


The Concept of Time

by BelleMorte180



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:48:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29007057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelleMorte180/pseuds/BelleMorte180
Summary: Pairs, France 1864After learning some distressing news, Klaus seeks out the advice of a friend in the middle of the night and meets a mysterious woman who leaves him with more questions than answers.  She hands him a journal filled with the mad ramblings about time by a man named Lorenzo St. John and see a curious date tattooed on her shoulder. Klaus can think of little else after their first meeting and tracks her down at a burlesque club in the wrong part of the city.Klaus begins to wonder if he can solve the mystery of Caroline Forbes or simply be lost in what has deemed to be impossible.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson
Comments: 34
Kudos: 48
Collections: Klaroline Winter Gift Exchange 2021





	The Concept of Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Eliliyah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eliliyah/gifts).



> This is a gift for Eliliyah for the Winter Gift Exchange.
> 
> I hope you love it!!!

_ “That brain of mine is something more than merely mortal, as time will show.” Ada Lovelace _

__

_ Paris, France 1864 _

__

The January air bristled across his face as he strolled through the brightly lit streets of Paris. It was cold and being that it was just a few weeks since the New Year, Klaus was surprised to see that there were people milling the streets. However, he was not in the most respectable parts of the city and that would explain the business. The people were a mixture of women looking to find a bed to warm in the night while men stumbled from their gaming clubs and into the skirt of some woman. Klaus had no shame in admitting that he was familiar with the Rue Saint-Denis, having lived there for a time when he had first moved to Paris. Perhaps he should find it shameful that he was more at home among the scandalous compared to the cold manor back in England. 

Klaus walked down the cobbled stone streets, past the dusty brick building, the smell of cigars and sex, taking a sharp turn down a dark alleyway. It was late, almost midnight but Klaus found that he could not sleep. There was little to no point in trying, for his mind turned in a never-ending loop of frustration and anger. The telegram was crumpled in his hand, covered by the long wool overcoat protecting him from the slowly falling snow. 

Most men would have waited till the sun rose, but this was not something Klaus knew could wait. If he did, there was a chance the falling snow would prevent him from leaving his tiny cramped shop at all. Granted, there was no way to predict the weather but Klaus could feel it in his bones that he would see no customers come the following day due to the snowfall. If it didn’t snow, then he would ensure that he was settled in his shop before it was set to open. 

And if he didn’t, well it wouldn’t be the first time Klaus found himself stranded in the Rue Saint-Denis.

It was not that he abandoned the place he considered his saving grace once upon a time, but he had moved to Paris in order to make a living for himself. A living that was not cursed by the Mikaelson name or the sins of his mother that plagued him. In those cold and dark streets, not a single person cared for his name or his parentage because everyone had their own demons to fight. His were just a long line of life’s curses weaved in the darkness. When Klaus had moved from the cramped flat that was situated above a gaming hell five years previously, he found that he rarely came back. While these streets would always be considered his home, he was proud that he had built something for himself elsewhere.

Klaus counted his steps and stopped about halfway down the alleyway. His eyes flickered upward to see the burning of the gas lamps in the window. Klaus smirked, his dimples creasing in his cheeks. He moved towards the door that looked as though a sharp wind could knock it off its hinges. He searched for a small stone or pebble, finding a few just on the side of the door. Klaus pulled his hands from the warmth of his pockets and picked up several small stones, ignoring the small painful cuts in them that the cold air had caused. He raised his hand up and tossed one stone, hitting it on the piece of glass. He tossed a few more before he saw the outline of a familiar face. Klaus pulled his fingers upward in the same wave and watched as the figure pulled away. He waited a few moments until the door opened and revealed the face of an old friend. 

“Christ Klaus, do you know what time it is? I thought you were the gendarmerie or worse. Come in.” Stefan asked, his sage green eyes taking in Klaus' appearance and stepped aside. Klaus stepped through the door and Stefan shut it tightly behind him, before nodding his head towards the stairwell. Klaus followed his friend up the stairs, noting that Stefan had changed the style of his hair again, the light brown hair parted in the center and a few pieces hanging just above his eyes. He was dressed down, in nothing more than brown breeches, a white undershirt and suspenders. 

A few other tenants of the rooming house peaked their heads out from behind their doors, curious as to who was coming in so late. Visitors at such an hour were not unheard of and Klaus wasn’t exactly a stranger, even if it had been awhile since he had been there. Stefan ignored his neighbors, weaved down the hall and walked towards his own door, holding it open for Klaus to step inside. 

“I apologize for barging in on you so unexpectedly but- oh, I didn’t realize you had company.” Klaus stopped, gazing around the rather large room, which half was set up as a small studio of sorts. In the center was a tall brown camera that rested on a wooden tripod, with a black tarp hanging just off to the side. There was a sofa pushed up against the wall, just below the window that Klaus had just thrown stones at. The sofa was a plush red and perhaps the most expensive piece of furniture Stefan owned outside of his camera. 

Yet, it was not the sofa or camera that drew Klaus’s attention. It was the naked woman that was sprawled out on it. She had blonde wavy hair, a button nose and a smile that made the gas lamps shine brighter. Her skin was pale, and her flushed rosy lips contrasted brightly against her skin. Her breasts were small but perky and the curves of her hips rested against the satin sofa. Her legs were long, tone and lead to a small patch of blonde hair directly between her legs. 

There were two thoughts that entered Klaus’s mind. The first was the rush of blood to his nether regions. The woman was beautiful, and Klaus was no innocent man who would look away from such beauty, especially when the woman was openly naked before him; having no shame in being so nor making any movement to cover herself. The second thought was the fact that  _ Stefan  _ had this woman in his rooms. While Klaus would not have found this odd if it had been anyone else, women were not exactly his type. 

Klaus owed his life to Stefan in many ways. When he first arrived in Paris with nothing more than the clothes on his back and his biological father’s fob watch, Klaus was alone and destitute. Stefan was one of the first people who had taken pity upon him; gave him shelter and Klaus discovered a part of himself that he had not realized was there. Klaus had always found himself attracted to women, and that would never change but the first time he found himself in Stefan’s bed, he realized that England had crushed more than the truth of who he thought his father was. While Stefan was nothing more than a friend and an old lover, Klaus was forever thankful for him. 

“Don’t mind her, she is a friend and is helping me with a project” Stefan replied, but Klaus could not look away from her beautiful face. She cocked her eyebrows, amused by his gaze; a hidden challenge behind them. Klaus could see how bright the blue orbs of her eyes were and the intelligence that lingered behind them. She trailed his body in curiosity, ogling him as he clearly was admiring her. However, Klaus could see that she was objectifying him just because he had yet to look away. The small smile on her lips told Klaus that it was a game she had presented, which one was going to look away first. 

Klaus realized that it was a game that he was unlikely to win. 

“Caroline _ , sois gentile _ .” Stefan scolded and the woman,  _ Caroline,  _ rolled her eyes, the small smirk still playing on her lips. She sat up and swung her legs over the side to sit up. She pushed herself off the sofa and stood, putting her hands above her head to stretch, her breasts trusted forward. Klaus’s eyes zeroing in on her pert nipples and how erect they were against the cold air. “Klaus.”

“What?” Klaus’s eyes snapped to Stefan, who was looking at Klaus with an amused expression on his face. Out of the corner of Klaus’s eye, he saw Caroline pick up a pink silk robe and slipped it on, tying it around her waist. Klaus shook his head and Stefan was chuckling at him, enjoying watching Klaus squirm. The memory of why Klaus had traveled all the way to Stefan’s apartment in the middle of the night was taming the pain that was occurring in his pants. “Right. I…um…shit.” 

“Distracted?”

“Mikael’s dead.” The words echoed out of his lips and he saw Stefan’s eyes go wide. Surprise lingered behind his eyes and Klaus looked down at his hands. Only Stefan, his best friend, knew the heartache and pain that man had caused him. He reached into the pocket of his wool coat and pulled out the telegram, handing the crumpled paper to Stefan. “They are calling me back home. Apparently mother wants her family together. All of it.”

“They can’t be serious.” Stefan replied, his eyes reading the paper and shaking his head. Caroline was sitting down at a small makeshift vanity, her face gazing at him in the mirror but Klaus could see that she was looking at him. He gazed at her, confused and curious. It was as though she knew what they were saying but Stefan spoke to her in French. It was not unheard of that some people only spoke one language, the majority of it being French in these parts. Yet, how she was looking at him made Klaus second guess his first impressions. Caroline reached over and picked up a gold fob watch, her fingers tracing its casing. For a moment, the watch looked familiar but before he could step forward and reach for it, Stefan was speaking again. “Immediately? They want you to what? Close up the shop and just go back to a place that was hell for you? Expect you to pretend they didn’t toss you out, with nothing to live on?”

“Well, having a watchmaker for a son is not as impressive when your mother is the daughter of a wealthy Earl. My mother and siblings have never worked a day in their life.” Klaus huffed, thinking back to Mikael’s rage and finding himself alone in a Yorkshire train station. His fall from grace was one that he was sure made its way around the ton. “I do miss them. Especially Elijah and Rebekah. God. I even miss Kol’s pranks.”

“Fuck them.” Stefan snapped, his eyes angry. “Klaus, I knew you when you arrived. You were hurt and broken. Yet, here you are. Standing on your own two feet. You worked in gaming hells, taverns and clubs. Earned the money to open that shop. Yet, not a single one of them came to find you after Ansel died. Not. One. Hell. They didn’t come find you after Mikael tossed you from the house and you’re seriously thinking about going back?”

“Stefan-”

“Why did you come here tonight Klaus? Really?” The question made Klaus pause. Why did he come here? The most logical answer was because Stefan was the one person he trusted most. The one person who understood what it was like to be tossed aside for something that they had since birth, but it had been weeks since he had last seen Stefan. Why him? “You came to me because I’m the one person who will tell you what you need to hear-  _ shit _ .” 

There was a pounding on the door and Klaus looked over his shoulder. Stefan’s voice had risen to the point that it must have disturbed some neighbors. Klaus had lived in this small tiny room with Stefan for six months, both as his friend and his lover, and knew how loud Stefan could be. It was not an uncommon occurrence that his friend could be loud. Stefan pinched the bridge of his nose and listened to the pounding at the door again. 

“You might want to get that.” 

“It will be a minute. Hold on.” Stefan turned away from him and walked across the flat to the front door, opening it wide. Rapid french could be heard, the sound of a very annoyed female was on the other side of the door and then a moment later, the door snapped shut. Klaus looked around the flat, avoiding Caroline’s gaze. He looked at the small, cramped double bed pressed against the far wall, and the stand that had a basin Stefan used to bathe in. He looked at the trunk that he knew Stefan stored his clothing and the worne run on the hardwood floor; he looked everywhere except that small vanity in the corner and the woman who sat upon it.

“He is right you know.” A femine voice sounded, drawing his attention towards Caroline. She was gazing at his reflection in the mirror, her hands holding that gold fob watch so tightly that Klaus couldn’t make the details of it out. She leaned down and dropped the watch into her bag before turning around on the small stool she was sitting on. “It is a difficult situation. Families. They’re always complicated but Stefan’s right.”

“Yeah well my family is-”

“Wealthy? Connected? Your blood?” Caroline replied and Klaus just stared at her, taking in her features and the kindness that showed behind the clearest blue eyes he had ever seen. His eyes flickered to her lips, taking in the words she had spoken. There was something about her voice. It was an accent that he had never heard before. It was hard to place and his brain wracked and searched for an answer. 

“I’m sorry, but where are you from?” This caused her to chuckle, her smile turning wide as though he was missing the joke. She looked down at her hands and shrugged, cocking her eyebrow in curiosity. She was urging him to guess, challenging him to  _ think. _ If Klaus was honest, he hadn’t felt such a challenge in a very long while, not since his days at Oxford. “America?”

“There you go. Knew you figured it out.” Caroline stood from the stool and walked over to a chair that had clothing scattered across it on the other side of the room, brushing past him as he went. She reached down and pulled a pair of stockings, slipping them on her legs. Klaus watched as she let the rob slide from her shoulders to the ground, exposing her round bottom to him and her creamy back; her shoulder blades pronounced. There on her back were some unfamiliar markings right above her left shoulder blade, ones that Klaus did not recognize. It appeared to be black ink, and something he had never seen before outside on the hands of prisoners. It appeared to be a date and one set for three years from now. 

_ April 3, 1867 _

“What? I’m sorry. What did you say?” Kaus asked, noticing that Caroline was looking at him over her shoulder. She laughed and shook her head. She slipped her chemise on over her body before picking up her corset. She waved it in front of him, clearly showing him what she had stated when his mind was focused on the numbers now covered by the underdress. “Oh. My pleasure.” 

Klaus stepped forward as Caroline wrapped the corset around her waist and chemise, pulling her long blond hair over her shoulder. Klaus took the lace and began tying up the corset tightly, weaving the strings through the holes and causing her to suck in a breath. Klaus reached out, touching the back of her neck, tracing his fingers to the cloth that covered the black ink; taking in the strange date again. He traced the black letters on her skin. 

“That day means something to me.” She whispered in a breathless tone. Klaus looked up and saw that her face was flushed and eyes searching his face as though she had a thousand questions that she had been waiting to be answered. Yet, Klaus wondered how a date that had not even happened yet could mean anything to a woman who posed naked for a photographer. Caroline was quickly becoming a mystery and Klaus wondered if he could solve it. All thoughts of his family, England and that blasted telegram flew out the window as he gazed into her eyes. “I see that it is just not men you’re interested in. That's good to know.” 

“I’m interested in many things and I have to admit you’re one of them. I think it is impossible not to be interested in you.” Caroline stepped away from him before he could finish speaking and picked up the outer layer of her dress, a beautiful pink dress that seemed far too extravagant for this part of Paris. She slipped it on without saying a word as Klaus just gazed at her in amazement. “Who are you?” 

“My name is Caroline but you already knew that.” She teased and Klaus felt as though his entire breath had been knocked out of him, her laughter echoing in the small space. “And you’re Klaus? It does appear that our introductions were not typical.” Caroline held out her hand to him and in his baffled state, Klaus slipped his into hers; the feeling of her soft skin touching his calloused ones sent a jolt through him. It was more than lust or desire, it was familiarity, almost as though he had known her before. “Caroline Forbes. It is a pleasure to meet you.” 

“Klaus Mikaelson.”

“A watchmaker?” 

“How did you-”

“You said that your family wouldn’t be impressed to have a watchmaker in the family.” Caroline replied, and Klaus gave a chuckle, his dimples creasing in his cheeks. Caroline gazed at him, her own smile lifting on her lips; in a way one does when they are seeing a loved one again for the first time in years. “I have something that I think you would like.” Caroline slipped her hand out of his and moved to the bag she had slipped the fob watch into. At first, Klaus assumed that she was going to pull the watch out but instead it was a black leather journal. “Here. I think you will like it. A man who builds devices that tells time and all.” 

_ The Concept of Time by Lorenzo St. John  _

“Thank you. Typically I am the one giving the gifts to beautiful women.” Klaus replied, trying to recover from the blunder of a first impression he had made. He found Caroline intriguing and wanted to know her more. She crossed her arms, cocking her head to the side and laughed. She shook her head, her wavy blonde hair being lightly tousled from side to side; telling Klaus that she was not impressed with his attempts at flirting. “Especially beautiful women with such sharp minds.”

“I suppose I can take that as a compliment, but flattery will get you nowhere.” She said, glancing over his shoulder. They both could hear the sound of Stefan’s voice coming through the wooden door. Klaus knew that his friend was finishing up his argument with his neighbor and his moment alone with Caroline was running short. “The answer to the question that drove you here tonight is simple. Don’t go. Don’t go to England. You don’t owe them anything. You’ve become someone you’re proud of and that is enough. If they miss you that badly, they will come to you. Don’t go. Stay in Paris.” 

The door opened up and Stefan strided through it, slamming it shut behind him. Klaus could see the annoyed frown lines on his brow, and his brown hair had his fingers run through it. Stefan was a man who over thought everything and the frown lines around his lips made him appear at least five years older than he actually was.

“I woke her baby. As though that baby slept as it was. I swear that kid is up screaming half the night so I highly doubt I was the one that woke it. What did I miss?” Stefan stated, rolling his eyes. He turned to look at Klaus, his eyes dancing between him and Caroline.

“Nothing.” Caroline replied quickly. She went back to the chair and grabbed her coat, slipping it onto her shoulders. “It looks like the snow is picking up and it's going to lay so I’m going to head back to the club before Kat gets worried and I can’t walk further than a few blocks. I’m sure we can finish the photos another time.” Caroline stepped forward and kissed Stefan’s cheek, giving him a slight smile as she pulled away; noting the worried look he had on his face. “I’ll be fine. I’ve travelled a lot farther than a few streets.” 

“Be safe. I’ll stop by the club tomorrow or something to set up a time for you to come back. I really appreciate you doing this.” Stefan told her and she nodded before walking towards the door, not bothering to give Klaus a second look. Klaus gripped the leather book tightly in his hand, calling out after her; a burning question on his lips. 

“Wait, Caroline.” She paused at the door, her hand gripping the knob as she turned her head to look at him. She cocked her eyebrow in question, tossing him that same smile she had worn when his fingers traced her skin. “You’re family. Where are they?” 

“Gone.” And without another word, Caroline slipped through the door and made her way out into the cold winter night, leaving Klaus wondering what had happened and why he felt as though the entire world had shifted around him. The only answer he had was the one he came for. He would not be heading back to England, but instead staying in Paris. 

The problem now became that he had a thousand more questions that needed to be answered. 

_ “Time is not as linear as most assume _ ,  _ for it is not always lost when a moment is over. It ebbs and flows, moment after moment concurring at the same time. Second after second. Minute after minute. Hour after hour. Time running all at once….”  _

The words of Lorenzo St. John trailed in the back of Klaus’s mind days after he had met Caroline. That night he found himself snowed in at Stefan's, he curled up and read the long and detailed theory about time and how telling it was not as simple as one would think. It was a work of fiction, for there was no other explanation of what it was, but it read like a thesis; and a very intriguing one at that. It reminded him of his time at Oxford, a time before Mikael and the disappointments lingered. It wasn’t necessarily the topic that held his interest, although as a man who built fobs for a living, the theory of time was fascinating. It was the style in which the concept was constructed. It was English but not in the way he was used to reading. Gone were the dense pros of a paragraph but instead something more concise and the explanations easy to follow on a concept so complex as telling the time; details from the uses of sundials to handheld watches. The formulas were above what he understood but there was something brilliant in their complexity. The handwriting itself was blocked and not in the cursive Klaus was accustomed to. It wasn’t printed by a printing press, but hand handwritten; just the lettering was formed in a fashion that he did not recognize. 

Klaus found it brilliant. 

Yet, what he found the most intriguing thing of all was the woman who handed him the book. He knew nothing of this Caroline except that she had handed him this leather bound journal and she was acquainted with Stefan. In the days that followed, pouring over the words of Lorenzo St. John, Klaus could not shake those blue eyes, blonde hair and knowing smile. There was more to Caroline than met the eye and Klaus wanted to know more. Stefan was reluctant at first to say how he knew Caroline but after a long visit three days after Klaus learned of Mikael’s death, did Stefan tell him where he could find Caroline.

“She is a dancer at a club.  _ Verveine.  _ It’s owned by Katherine Pierce and she is very protective of her girls, especially Caroline. She isn’t going to let you speak to Caroline without reason….or not without enough franc.” Stefan said in a low tone, his voice guarded. “Look, Caroline isn’t exactly…”

“What?”

“She is a working girl, Klaus.” Stefan said flatly but Klaus didn’t flinch. He had assumed that Caroline was no blushing virgin, for the innocent types were not ones to allow themselves to be photographed without a stitch of clothing on. “Look. Klaus, I don’t want this getting out. If people knew what I am doing, well, the landlord is allowing me to use the basement of the building to develop the film but….I’m producing smut. Photographs of woman in order for interested parties to-”

“I got it Stefan. That was made rather clear the other night.” Klaus stated in a bored tone. He cared not how Stefan made a living. He knew that his friend was rarely operating on the clean side of the law. Klaus had known that the moment they had met and Stefan had introduced him to the darker side of Paris, a world filled with desire and lack of inhibitions, one that rivaled London’s underworld. “I don’t care where she has been or whom she has been with. I just need to know her. I can’t get her out of my head. There is something about her. I can’t explain why but my gut is telling me to find her.” 

“You never were able to turn away from a pretty face.” Stefan muttered in an exasperated tone and Klaus didn’t contradict him but it was more than that, more than just her beauty or his desire to bury himself inside her. It was the words she had spoken to him and how easily she handed him the answer to his dilemma, after he spent hours battling within himself. It was the strange journal and the little black date inked on her skin. It was the million questions that she presented and Klaus was not a man who backed down from a challenge. “She is performing Friday night. I was planning on speaking with Kat. See if any of her girls were interested in some side work.”

Klaus got his affairs in order, sent a telegram back to his mother informing him of his decision to stay in Paris. He continued to run his shop, ticker with watches and carve the intraquiet designs on the gold and silver casings. He had dabbled as an artist when he was in his teens and in his early twenties while at Oxford but as he settled into his thirties, Klaus turned that passion to the trade Ansel, his true father, had taught him. 

He was passing the time until Friday was upon him. He closed his little shop early, setting aside his orders and packing a small bag in the small flat he lived in above his workstation. He set out into the cold winter afternoon, just before the sun was set and made his way once again to the streets of Rue Saint-Denis. He caught a trolley and it was well after dark when he arrived at Stefan’s; his friend was waiting for him in order to begin the trek to the club. 

_ Verveine _ was a theatrical club located just on the outskirts of Rue Saint-Denis. It was the club that was seedy enough for the upper class to visit when they wanted to claim a night of thrills but not risky and vulgar enough as some of the clubs found deeper into the darker parts. Klaus had been to the club before, for there were few who lived in that part of Paris who had not but he had never seen Caroline perform. He was not familiar with the owner nor had he realized Stefan was. It had been well over three years since he had sat at the club's wooden tables, inhaled the scent of perfume and nursed a scotch while taking in a show. 

While the club itself was cleaner than many of the gaming hells he had been in, it still was not the theaters he had known growing up in England as a wealthy man. The tables were small and round, only a few seats to each of them. The bar was wooden and a burly man standing behind it, clearly there to ensure that no patron got out of hand. It was crowded but not uncomfortably so. The stage was at the far end, set with only what appeared to be a settee and a small stool. The curtains that hung on either side of the stage were a deep burgundy and the gas lamps that lined the edges of the stage gave the setup an almost romantic glow. 

At the far back of the stage there was a massive mirror that reflected not only the stage but the audience as well. To the left was a series of instruments, ranging from a fiddle to piano. The settee appeared to be covered in plush pillows and he could see a few people milling about on stage, preparing for the set. Stefan whispered something but he could not focus on his old friend; especially when the upbeat and almost seductive music began to play. 

The mirror on the back of the stage opened and at least twelve young women spilled out, all in tight corset long skirts and colorful tull backings. Their hair was all done in impressive updos, each different from the next and they all danced in a seductive manner, swaying to the music in a way that had their hips gently thrusting, arms swaying and their breasts nearly falling out of their bustiares. The woman all piled together tightly around the settee, molding into any gentleman’s wet dream. Klaus searched each and everyone of their faces, yet he could not find Caroline.

That was until a graceful voice graced his ear. 

_ Show a little more _

_ Show a little less _

_ Add a little smoke _

From the center of the twisting pile and lounging against the sette, Caroline was dressed in a tight pink corset, stockings, a garter and a very short skirt that was possibly the most scandalous thing Klaus had ever seen outside of a bedroom. She wore jewels around her neck that dipped deep into her cleavage. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her head with a few curls falling into her eyes. She held out her arms and several of the other girls lifted her up, twirling her around the stage; their hands gracing parts of her body that Klaus wished he could touch. 

_ Everything you dream of _

_ But never can possess _

_ Nothing's what it seems _

The other dancers sat Caroline down and Klaus just watched as her body moved in a secretive manner that made him believe that she had some professional training. The other girls were decent but none moved with such grace and sexuality that Caroline did. Klaus remembered the shows he had seen during his previous visits but none of them were as intoxicating that watching Caroline perform. He was not lying to Stefan when he said he wanted to speak to Caroline and it was not solely a physical desire; but watching her move, Klaus could not help but feel the tightly of his pants. 

_ Everyone is buying _

_ Put your money in my hand _

_ If you got a little extra _

_ Well, give it to the band _

Caroline moved towards the edge of the stage, slowly making her way down the small set of stairs that rested in the front; the sound of her small heels clicking against the wood mixed with the sound of the melody from the band. She moved to the first table, reaching to touch the man’s hair, pulling his head back, singing into his ear. 

_ You may not be guilty _

_ But you're ready to confess _

_ Tell me what you need _

She pulled away from the man, tossing his head away from her hand, her hips swaying as she moved. The girls were still dancing on stage, thrusting their bodies and grazing their hands around one another often seen in a brothel. Yet, Klaus could only focus on Caroline, how her body pressed against several of the patrons, taking sips of their drinks and her lips lingering above theirs. She stood from one table and slowly made her way closer and closer, and he saw the moment her eyes recognized him. A little smirk played on his lips, her blue eyes lighting up at the sight of him. She changed course, swaying her hips and placing one foot in front of the other. When she reached the table where Klaus and Stefan were sitting, Caroline placed her hands flat against the table; showing her cleavage to them, the golden jewels dipping into her corset and enhancing the top of her creamy breasts that appeared bigger than he remembered. 

_ Everyone is buying _

_ Put your money in my hand _

_ If you want a little extra _

_ Well, you know where I am _

Caroline trailed her fingers around the table, her eyes latching onto Klaus’s gaze; a coy smile playing on her cherry lips. She lowered herself down onto his lap and Klaus could feel her body pressing against his chest. She twirled her hips against his groin and he couldn’t help the groan that escaped his lips, causing a sparkle of amusement to grow in her eyes. Her finger reached up and traced the length of his nose, heading sound until she was touching his lips with the tips of her finger. 

_ Something there in the dark _

_ Is playing with your mind _

_ Its not the end of the day _

_ But just the bump and grind.  _

Caroline leaned down and pressed her lips to his, giving him a soft and gentle kiss. Klaus’s eyes fluttered shut, allowing himself to fall deeper into the kiss. His hands trailed down to her hip, feeling the designs in the corset she was wearing. He deepened the kiss, pouring every ounce of passion he had into her lips until he could no longer breath. Caroline broke the kiss and stood from Klaus’s lap without a backwards glance. She swayed and danced, moving in that seductive manor that had him enthralled; that air of mystery that had her plaguing his mind since that night in Stefan’s apartment. As he watched her hips swing from side to side as she climbed the stairs back onto the stage, Klaus still felt the hardened erection in his trousers. 

_ Show a little more _

_ Show a little less _

_ Add a little smoke _

_ Everyone is buying _

_ Put your money in my hand _

_ If you want a little extra _

_ Well, you know where I am _

The song finished with a swift bang and Caroline was engulfed with a series of hands, feathers and hair that Klaus could not see where she started and the other woman began. Applause broke out around him but he felt as though he could not move, entranced by the sight in front of him. The woman broke apart and Caroline curtsied in thanks of the ovation; for a second Klaus thought he saw her eyes flicker towards him and that coy smile appearing on her lips. 

“Oh you want to ‘know’ her alright. Shouldn’t be surprised, she was naked the first time you met her.” Stefan snorted into his drink. Klaus turned to look at his friend, whose smirk was hidden from view by the glass of whisky. Klaus wanted to have some retort but he found it difficult to think of anything besides the discomfort in his trousers. “Klaus?”

“I do.” He muttered, shifting his hips slightly and crossing his legs, hoping to quell the desire that was pulsing through his veins. “I meant what I said, there is something about her that makes me want to know her and not just physically.” He paused, thinking back to the night he had first met her and everything she had said to him; and the book she had given him. “She told me to stay in Paris and if my family wanted me, they could come here. I don’t know, it just...meant something.”

“Christ.” Stefan muttered again, lifting his whisky to his lips again, taking a long drink of it before setting it back down on the table. “I think I would rather you just sleep with her and be done with it if she already has this affect on you after one naked conversation.” 

“Jealous?”

“No. That ship sailed a long time ago.” Stefan replied with a roll of his eyes and Klaus chuckled, ignoring the fact that a new performance began on stage, one without Caroline. “Do you need to use the streets? Relieve some tension?” 

“No, I’m alright.” Klaus replied, honestly as his erection deflated and his mind turned to less than pleasant topics. He thought on the telegram he had sent a few days prior and wondered if his mother had a chance to read it yet; and curious as to what she would do with it, if anything at all. “Amazing how mentioning my family, even in passing is enough to squash anything pleasant.” 

“Fair point.” Stefan replied, turning his gaze back to the stage. Klaus couldn’t focus only the stage or the woman performing on it. His mind was back on Caroline and the journal she had given him. It was in the small bag by his feet. He reached down and pulled out the leather bound book, tracing the author’s name; wondering how this Lorenzo St. John was connected to Caroline. 

The music and the dancing faded into the background as Klaus flipped open the book again, reading the words had already memorized. Stefan called to the waitress, ordering them both another round of drinks that Klaus knew he was not going to touch. The waitress, a beautiful young girl with chocolate skin, bright brown eyes and dark hair, placed a glass filled with some amber liquid. Klaus did not even reach for it; engrossed in the book he was reading. 

_ If something happens in the past that would cause a change in the future, such things cannot be undone. One cannot change the past, as such things are set in stone; even when time occurs all at once. _

“Come on Bonnie! Five minutes! That's all I need.” Stefan pleaded and Klaus turned his head to see Stefan speaking with the waitress. She held an annoyed look on her face and her arms were crossed. She scowled at him and Klaus could see that there was no love lost between them. “Bonnie, Kat’s talked to me before. I just need one more girl. Caroline volunteered and I pay well enough-”

“Kat does not sell her girls.” Bonnie spat clearly, her voice harsh and cold. Klaus studied the waitress, and saw that she was dressed, while seductively, more sensibly, telling Klaus that she was not a dancer. “What they do on their own time is their business. Caroline’s decision to pose for you was her own doing. If you want more girls, talk to them yourself.” 

“She doesn’t let me near them!”

“Is there a problem Mate?” Bonnie snapped her gaze from Stefan to Klaus, her eyes tracing every inch of him. Klaus held her gaze, the brown eyes pouring into his and yet he held it. Klaus was not a man who backed down to a challenge, perhaps that is why he liked Caroline so much. The night they had met, she had taken him off guard and challenged him. She presented him with a puzzle and a mystery, one that he was desperate to solve. 

“Who are you?” 

“The name is Klaus.” For a moment, he thought he saw a flicker of surprise behind the fiery and protective eyes. Bonnie studied him again but this time, her gaze was different. There was genuine curiosity lingering in her gaze now, a contrast from the hostility that had been there before. After a moment, Bonnie was the first to break away from their silent battle and focused back on Stefan. 

“Fine. Five minutes but if she eviscerates you, you only have yourself to blame.” Bonnie snapped and turned on her heels. Stefan reached over and slapped his shoulder gently, nodding towards Bonnie’s retreating back. Klaus reached down and grabbed his black bag and slipped the journal inside, sliding the bag over his shoulder, following Stefan across the floor of the club. Bonnie led them towards a curtain that was just out sight to the crowd, and heavily guarded by a man who clearly had seen the rougher side of life. “Luka, let them pass but if Kat tells them to go, make sure they do.”

“Yes Miss Bonnie.” The guard muttered, eyeing both Stefan and Klaus with distrust. Klaus flickered his gaze towards the guard as he passed, unable to help the small smirk that graced his lips. He couldn’t explain why, but passing the man made him remember the nights he had bartender in one of the gaming hells when he first arrived in Paris. Klaus was not unfamiliar with men who were rough around the edges. Many would claim that Klaus was jagged and broken in some places. 

There was a small set of stairs that they climbed and entered a world that Klaus had to admit that he had never seen. Before him he saw a series of racks filled with feathers of all colors, corsets thrown onto various pieces of furniture and women fleeting from one place to the next, each reaching out to tie the laces on a corset or to help fix hair styles that were falling out of place. It was in that moment, seeing such chaos, he realized he had never really lived with a woman. His younger sister and the various women he had taken to his bed could not compare to the sight before him. 

“Absolument pas!” A voice hissed and Klaus whipped around to see a fiery woman stalking across the stage at them. She was the only woman who was fully dressed in more than just fancy chemise and corsets. She had curly brown hair that was piled high on her head and an accent that was of eastern european descent. She paid no attention to Klaus, but instead that her focus was solely on Stefan. “I told you never to come back here again or I would have you banned.” 

“Katherine,  _ please.”  _

“No Stefan! I understand that you think my girls are nothing more than props for your endeavor but I will not sell them to this.” Katherine snapped and Klaus was taken aback at how young she was. When Stefan had mentioned that the club was owned and run by a woman, he had imagined someone older and not someone who could be no older than his sister. 

“You sell them to the highest bidder all the time.” Stefan snapped back, narrowing his eyes at her. “What is so different about this? What is so different than a few photos compared to opening their legs for some John who only uses them for one night?”

“Because a photograph is immortal. One night in some bed is one thing but what you’re doing, could ruin a girl if she ever finds a way out of this life. If they don’t want to do it, I will not make them.” Katherine placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. “If they choose to take you up on your offer, I will not stop them but none of them have.”

“Caroline-”

“Has her reasons and none of them are your concern.”

“You’re such a hypocrite Katherine! You built this place by sleeping with those who would pay you or have you forgotten that.” Stefan spat and Katherine looked as though she had been slapped. It was clear that Stefan’s comment was one that was an old wound that had clearly not healed. “Kat, shit. I’m sorry-”

“We were friends once Stefan, but that does not mean I’ll sell my girls to you.” Katherine replied in a cold tone, telling both men that the conversation was over. Stefan moved to speak, not accepting the words of the madam but Klaus stepped forward, placing his hand on Stefan’s shoulder, halting his speech.

“I know you’re not skilled with women, Mate but this is not the way to go about getting a woman naked in your flat.” Klaus stated, hoping to inject some levity into the thick air, ignoring the glances he was getting from the girls around them. He kept his voice controlled and even, but this hand tightened on Stefan’s shoulder. It was hard enough to leave a bruise but just enough force that made his friend understand the message. 

“Who the hell are you?” Katherine asked in a brisk tone. Her eyes flickered from Stefan to Klaus, dancing on the firm hand on the former's shoulder. Her hands went to her hips and she cocked her head. “His employer? Or his boyfriend? Because either way, the answer remains the same. My girls are not doing smut unless they want to.”

“Not his employer and not his boyfriend.”

“Ex-lover then. Interesting.” Katherine replied in an amused tone, clearly drawing a series of thoughts that would make anyone blush. Klaus got the impression that Katherine was a woman who it would take a great deal to make uncomfortable and the more devious side of him wanted to push those buttons until she cracked. “Got a name?”

“Klaus.” Katherine froze and for a second her eyes went wide. Her shoulders tensed and her hands clenched into her his, balling parts of her skirt in her hand. The reaction was something he had not expected. It was not that Klaus was notorious in these parts. When he had lived in the squalor, he had been no angel but had done nothing to warrant such recognition of his name. “I met Caroline the other night. She loaned me a book. I would like to give it back to her.” 

“A book. Right.” Katherine gave a humorless laugh, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. She bit down on her lip, trying to come to a conclusion that was weighing on her mind. She then let out a huff of annoyance and glared at Klaus as though he had personally offended her. “Damn it. Harvard! You have a visitor.” 

At the sound of Katherine’s voice, one of the doors back staged opened and a head peaked out. Caroline looked around the stage and spotted both Klaus and Stefan standing near Katherine. A knowing smile graced her lips and she nodded her head towards the open door before slipping back inside the room. Klaus didn’t bother turning to seek Katherine’s permission, instead he slipped back to her and walked down the hall until he found the open door. 

Inside Caroline was sitting on a plush sofa in nothing more than a white robe that had fur at the ends of the sleeve and on the train. It was seer and he could see the corset and stocking peeking underneath. Her hair was down, curled and hanging around her shoulders. Her face had been scrubbed clean and her jewelry gone; a sight Klaus found more beautiful than her dancing on a stage. 

“I have to say, that was some kiss.” Klaus stated, his telltale smirk dancing on his lips. He saw a faint blush appear on Caroline’s skin and she gave a small laugh. It was bold of her to kiss him, in the middle of the club. Klaus had been in enough of them to see that it wasn’t something typically done. Flirtatious singing and a few touches but not a kiss in the middle of a performance. “I can't say that I wouldn’t like another.”

“Well aren’t you bold?” Caroline chuckled, humor dancing in her eyes. As she gazed at him, all the questions she had presented when they first met bubbled in his mind. What was it about her that drew him in? Why did he want to not only grab her and press his lips to hers again but to also dissect the mystery that surrounded her? “You appear to be feeling better tonight. Did you find what you were looking for? Did Stefan put you onto the right path?”

“After tonight I’m beginning to question if Stefan even knows what the right path is.” Klaus replied and Caroline laughed, a perly chuckled echoing around the room. He felt his heart still and that jolt coursing through him as though she was familiar to him. He couldn’t explain it but he felt as though he  _ knew  _ her. “I wanted to say thank you. For what you said.”

“It was nothing.”

“It was everything.” Klaus locked eyes with her and begged her to understand. Never before had he wanted to purge himself in a way that he wanted to with her. Not even Stefan made him feel as though he could divulge the deepest secrets of himself like she did. Shaking his head, Klaus reached into his leather bag and pulled out the black journal. “And I wanted to give you this back.”

“You’ve read it?” Caroline smiled brightly then, her eyes gleaming with excitement as she stood from the sofa. She strolled over to him and took the book out of his hand, caressing the leather as though it was a treasured possession. “Well, what do you think?”

“I think Mr. St. John is a madman but a brilliant one.” Klaus replied honestly. He leaned against the wall of the room, noting the glances he received from the passing girls. He stuck his hand in his pockets and watched as Caroline flipped through the pages. “He rambles about time as though it is a person or some sentient being. How every moment exists all at once but still is in a specific order, as though time was carved into stone.” 

“Lorenzo was head of his time.” Caroline chuckled as though she was laughing at a joke Klaus did not know. “His themes are unconventional but he has a point. We all only have so much time to live. Why waste it doing what is expected of us? Why waste it doing things we hate just because someone else wanted us to? We need to take the time we have and just live. Do what we love? Whether it be dancing or making watches.” 

“You really know this man, don’t you? This Lorenzo.” 

“He was a friend. A dear one.” Caroline said and Klaus felt a wave of jealousy course through him. He imagined Caroline in the arms of a faceless man and he could feel the burning pit of anger boil in his stomach. He was never one who was good at sharing what was his but he had to calm himself, for Caroline was not his to be jealous over. “But one that is long gone.” 

“You loved him.” Klaus stated what he thought was the obvious answer. The way Caroline spoke of Lorenzo was that of someone she had loved once and thought of from time to time. Klaus wondered if he felt such things for all the faceless women and men he had in his bed or even Stefan. He realized that he never spoke of such fondness that Caroline did for the man who wrote such baffling concepts. 

“It was a bittersweet love and I thank you for returning the book to me. I must admit I was feeling a bit lost without it.” Caroline placed the journal on a vanity, her fingers lingering on leather before pulling away. Klaus gazed at her hands, noting that beside the journal was a gold fob watch and one that looked familiar. He gently pushed off the wall and took a step forward, his eyes fixated on the watch but then Caroline sat down on the edge of the vanity, blocking it from view. “How can I repay you for getting it back to me so quickly?” 

“I’m sure I could think of something.” Klaus smirked at her, the watch quickly pushed aside in his mind and he focused on Caroline. She really was beautiful but he could see that there was more to her than just a pretty face. Her words were spoken with intelligence and she moved with such confidence that Klaus could not help but admire. “Have a drink with me. Tonight after you're done.” 

“I’m done for the night. I opened the show, that is all.” Caroline replied, she pushed off the vanity and sat down in front of it. She pulled out a few pins and a comb, running it through her hair as she pulled it back into a sensible bun at the base of her neck. “I've been a bit busy you know, helping your friend with his special project.”

“I remember. Fondly.”

“I’m sure you do.” She looked at him in the mirror, leaning forward and resting her chin on the palm of her hand. Her fingers taped against her nose, pondering his request and then smiled as brightly as the sun when her decision was made. “I’ll have a drink with you but not here. My father used to tell me it is not best to eat where you shit.” Klaus snorted not expecting such an answer. “He was an odd man, my dad. Now shoo. You’ve seen me naked once, next time you’ll have to earn it.” 

“Yes mam.” Klaus nodded and slowly left the room, looking back at her over his shoulder just in time to see that white robe slip off her shoulders. There was a cheeky smile on his lips as he left her room, strolling down the corridor, passing the multitude of scantily dressed women to where Stefan was still waiting, under Katherine’s furious gaze. 

“Are you finished? I need to go home and come up with a new game plan.” Stefan muttered in a bitter tone, tossing Katherine a look of pure annoyance. Part of Klaus wondered what exactly Stefan was into, because this felt more than just smut, something far more illegal than explicit photographs of naked women. He wanted to ask but Stefan was as secretive as he was brooding; he wouldn’t reveal more than he wanted and would fall into an uncontrollable bender if pushed too much. Klaus did not feel like having to pull his friend out of a drunken stupor again, as he had many times in the past. 

“You’ll have to head back on your own. I have a date.” The smug tone of Klaus’s voice caused Katherine’s shoulders to tense and Stefan to groan. Katherine took a stepforward, glaring at Klaus as though he was nothing more than prey, his scent latched on by a viper. He did not back down, for he was not someone who was easily intimate, despite the fact that he could easily see that Katherine Pierce was not a woman to trifle with. “Don’t try and intimidate me. The only thing I’m paying for is a drink or two. Nothing else. I’m not interested in Caroline the way you’re thinking. Well, not professionally anyway. I like her.” 

“Hurt her and I will castrate you.” Katherine hissed, shaking her pointer finger at him. She sharply turned on her heels and made her way down the hall before turning sharply into the room Caroline was getting dressed in. Klaus turned back to Stefan, to see his friend’s less than amused face staring back at him. Klaus’s grin only made him more annoyed. “Cheer up, Mate. I’m sure you’ll find some desperate broad to pose for you.” 

“What the hell happened in my flat the other night Klaus?” Stefan asked as they walked down the small set of stairs back onto the club’s floor, passing Luka’s glaring face as they went. They walked over to their table and Klaus took a seat, leaning back comfortably while his bag rested on the ground beside him. “Caroline is a hard shell to crack. It took me three weeks to convince her to pose for the photographs and it was only when I offered her a higher payment that she agreed so how the hell did you get her to agree to have a drink with you?” 

“What can I say? She just likes me better.”

“You’re such an ass.”

“Thank you.” Klaus chuckled, not caring if Stefan meant it as an insult or not. “And I told you the truth. We just talked.”

“If that kiss was any indication, that must have been one hell of a conversation.” Stefan muttered, shaking his head. He said his goodbyes and headed out the door. Bonnie came over, asking if he wanted a drink but Klaus declined her, instead turning his gaze onto the stage but could not focus on the dancers who were now performing. He pulled out his fob watch, the one that his father, his  _ real  _ father had given him just before he died. Klaus traced the name carved onto the casing with his finger.  _ Ansel Wolfe.  _ Klaus had only known the man for a short while, a few months at most. He wondered what he had done to deserve such little time with the man, when he had been robbed of years of what could have been a happy life together. 

“Klaus?” He turned his head to see Caroline standing before him. She was completely dressed, more so than he had ever seen her. It was a dark teal color with black lacing. Ther skirt was full and it had a low neckline. She had a black pillbox hat perched on her head and a matching long black coat that was unbuttoned, hanging off her shoulder. “Are you alright?” 

“I’m perfect.” Klaus stood and grabbed and began buttoning his own coat while Caroline did the same. He offered her his arm, and Caroline rested her hand just inside the crook of his elbow. Klaus led her out into the cool winter streets and made their way further away from the Rue Saint-Denis. Caroline looked over her shoulder in confusion, her brow creasing and her eyes narrowing to look at Klaus. “What?”

“Where are you taking me?”

“It's a surprise.”

“I don’t like surprises.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Klaus smirked at her, enjoying the ire that was in her gaze. She wasn’t angry but he could tell that if it was not a surprise that would be revealed almost immediately, Caroline would stop at nothing until she got him to tell her where they were going. Klaus wondered how long he could withhold a surprise from her, for he was a stubborn man and enjoyed pushing those he cared for to the limit. He wondered just how much pushing it would take for Caroline to become riled. “You said that you didn’t want to, oh what was the phrase,  _ eat where you shit _ so I figured a pub just a few streets over would be appropriate.”

“Very well, but do not make it a habit. I hate not knowing something. It bothers me.” Caroline retorted and Klaus had to tamper down a smile. If he were to make a habit of surprising her, that would mean she would become more to him than an acquaintance that made a lasting impression. “We are heading towards the Rue de Venise?”

“There is a small pub, not well known but I was a bartender there a few years back, so they will let me in. It will be busy but not enough that we won’t be able to talk.” Klaus took a sharp turn, causing Caroline’s heels to scrap against the cobbled stone road. The bottom of her skirt grazed the ground, pushing the small covering of snow that lingered on the ground from a slight snowfall earlier in the day. A carriage passed them on the main road, the hooves of the horses clacking against the road, just as they came made their way down an alleyway. Klaus paused in front of a wooden door and looked around, ensuring that they were alone before banging on the door. A slit in the door opened up and a pair of eyes gazed out from it. “ _ Abattoir _ .” 

The door swung open just enough to let them squeeze through. Klaus gripped Caroline’s hand to show that she was with him and therefore off limits. If it had been any other woman, and one who did not dancer in a burlesque club or posed naked in photographs, he would not have brought her to such a place. However, Klaus could tell that Caroline was not a blushing maiden and knew a thing or two about what happens behind closed doors. 

“Klaus Mikaelson, as I live and breathe! I thought you cleaned up your act and moved out of this part of the city.” 

“Marcel! Good to see you.” Klaus greeted, his arms wide open and took the other by the hand, pulling him into a comfortable embrace. Marcel was just a hair shorter than Klaus, a thin layer of black hair on his chocolate skin and a wide sparkling smile that anyone would be jealous of. While Marcel was an attractive man, there was a long scar down the side of his face, the cause of a bar fight he had been in the night Klaus began working in the pub. Klaus stitched him up the best he could but the scar remained, creating an understanding between the two men. “And just because I moved on, does not mean I can’t come back and visit now and again.” 

“And here we were thinking that you had forgotten us.” Marcel joked before his eyes turned to Caroline. They trailed her up and down, noting the expensive looking coat, the black pillbox hat and her beautiful coy smile. “And who is your friend? You look familiar. Where have I seen you before?”

Klaus could see the spark in Marcel’s gaze, a whisper of desire curling at the edges of his lips. A streak of possessiveness flowed through Klaus, his eyes narrowed and he could not help but place his hands on the small of Caroline’s back. Klaus moved to speak, his shoulders tensing and a retort ready to fall from his lips but this voice fell short as Caroline's irritated tone spoke for him.

“My name is none of your business.” 

“Wait. You’re that dancer. Over at  _ Verveine!  _ I have to admit lady, you’ve got some moves.” Marcel replied, tossing her that bright white smile that Klaus knew melted hearts. Typically, Klaus did not mind Marcel’s flirtatious manner, for it was impossible for him not to try and charm every woman he met but Klaus could not help the boiling feeling of dread that was forming in his stomach. Klaus’s temper was known to tip over whenever he was stressed; something that has not happened in awhile. “Tell me, what is a girl like you, doing with a man like Klaus? Surely there are better  _ candidates  _ than a boring old watchmaker?”

“Whomever this  _ candidate  _ that you’re thinking of, Mate, better step off.” Klaus hissed, his jaw clenched tightly and his fingers curled into Caroline’s coat, something he knew she could not feel through the layers of fabric she was wearing. However, she slipped her arm around his waist and squeezed his hip in comfort. “I suggest that you find another woman to set your sights on.” 

“I mean no harm.” Marcel replied, putting his hands up in the air but that smile lingered. Marcel had worked with Klaus long enough to know what buttons to push. While Klaus liked Marcel well enough, the relationship was not one he would mourn losing if need be. “You two have a good night and I’ll be manning the bar if you need anything. I’ll have Sophie bring over a bottle of red. I remember that is what you prefer Mikaelson.”

Marcel walked off, leaving Klaus and Caroline standing by the door. He turned to look down at Caroline, who was wearing an amused smile and looked as though she was on the verge of laughing. Klaus nodded towards a small round table in the corner of the pub and gently guided Caroline towards it. His hand was still firmly on the small of her back and Caroline made no move to remove it. 

“I can take care of myself, you know. It would not be the first time I had to fend off unwelcome advances from men like your friend.” Caroline told him gently. Klaus reached out and pulled the chair out for her, allowing her to sit down first, by the surprised look on her face, Klaus could see that the gesture was very much appreciated. “Although, a girl does like it when a man takes charge from time to time.” 

“I’ll make a note to do so more often.” Klaus replied, taking a seat across from her. The corner was dark and the gas lamps only admitted so much glow in the building. Despite the darkness, Caroline had a light of her own that brightened the room around her. Her face was warm and held a gentle gaze that made Klaus curse the cold weather; for her coat was blocking his ability to admire you fully. 

“I hope to see that you do.” Caroline laughed, reaching out to touch the back of Klaus’s hand. Her pointer finger drew a small line down the back of it, sending that familiar chill coursing through his whole body. The tip of her finger was soft and the feeling of that small amount of skin against his, was more intimate than any passionate kiss. “So, how does the son of a wealthy and prestigious woman in England end up being a watchmaker in Paris?” 

“Wealthy and prestigious?”

“I may have looked into you.”

“You mean you talked to Stefan?” Caroline did not reply, instead simply tilting her head to the side, a knowing look etched into her features. Discussing his past was not something he enjoyed doing. It took the majority of his friendship with Stefan for him to gather the entire truth. Klaus had moved out of his small room and ended their physical relationship long before he confessed to everything. Yet, looking at Caroline, compassion written in every crevice of her face, made Klaus want to purge himself of his past in a way he had never felt before. “Well, the story is not a happy one. The man I thought was my father was the third son of a Lord. Did not inherit the title but was wealthy enough. He married my mother, wealthy dowry, they purchased a beautiful home in York and had four children. However, turns out that my mother was not always faithful to my father.” 

“She had an affair.” Caroline replied, not a hint of surprise in her tone, almost as though she had heard the story before. Klaus bristled, wondering if he needed to have words with Stefan, for he was the only person in France who knew the entire truth. Yet, there was something circling in the back of his mind. Stefan was reluctant to tell him anything about Caroline, or even assist in the pair making a connection. Why would Stefan confess his deepest secrets to Caroline? It just did not seem like something Stefan would not do. “That's not your fault.” 

“I know but my step-father thought otherwise.” The waitress Klaus assumed was named Sophie at Marcel’s indication arrived then and placed a bottle of red wine in front of them with two glasses and a decanter. She opened the bottle and poured a heavy amount of the wine into the decanter, giving the pair a warm smile. “ I can not promise the wine will be good. This place is more known for the opioids used on the second floor than the quality of the alcohol.”

“I can assure you that I’ve had far worse. Please, continue.” 

“My mother was involved with a well known watchmaker in London. Turns out I’m his child but my mother did not want her husband to learn of the affair so she passed me off as his son. The truth came out when I was at Oxford. I was home for Christmas, I could tell that something was wrong. My mother was, well, I don’t want to get into that. Mikeal was beside himself, having always been a cruel man but not like this.” Klaus picked up the decanter, poured himself a generous glass and took a long sip. “He had gone to Ansel, my real father. I was identical to him. It was like looking into a mirror image.”

“Disowned you, didn’t he?” Caroline breathed in a low tone. It was harsh and far colder than her warmth should allow to pass through her lips. There was a burning fire behind her blue eyes and he could see the anger lingering there. Slowly, Klaus nodded his head. “But you did nothing! You did not ask to be born and he just wrote you off?”

“Completely. I couldn’t even finish university because he refused to pay the tuition. In the span of a few hours, I found myself penniless and without a home.” Caroline grabbed the decanter, poured herself a glass and then downed it in one gulp. Klaus laughed humorlessly at her reaction, her anger on his behalf felt justifying. “I take it that you did not know this part of the story?”

“No. I did not.”

“Well, then I’m afraid Stefan didn’t give you all the dirty details then.” Klaus replied, trying to lighten the mood but he could see that Caroline was still furious. He reached out and gripped her hand, giving it a tight squeeze; trying to show her that he was okay. “It was over ten years ago now. I’m okay and I’ve moved on.” Caroline searched his face and Klaus had never felt so bare and open to anyone before. It was a freeing feeling. “What is it about you that makes me want to bare my soul?” 

“I think in time we will be able to answer that question.” Caroline whispered, her free hand reaching up to touch her lips as though she was lost in a memory that Klaus was not privy to. “How did you come to be in Paris?”

“I was lost. Had nowhere to go. My siblings were prohibited from contacting me so I tracked down my real father.” Klaus paused, the memory of seeing his real father’s face for the first time flashed before his eyes. It was a stilted moment, one of confusion and heartbreak; possibly one of the worst moments in his adult life. “He had no idea he had a son. Welcomed me with open arms and taught me everything he knew. However, Mikael was out for vengeance. Ruined everything Ansel had. The shop in London, his home, everything. Ansel died six months after I met him. Something with his heart.”

“The stress killed him.” Caroline replied, her tone held a finality that could not be disputed. It was as though she knew something more than she was letting on, some knowledge that Klaus did not know. He thought back to the journal and the ramblings of Lorenzo, an old lover Caroline had once upon a time. “And then you came to Paris?”

“And then I came to Paris.” Klaus echoed, taking another sip of his wine. Klaus turned to her, his lips shifting into a smile that made his dimples crease in his cheeks. Looking at Caroline, he knew she was beautiful and talented but there was something about her that made Klaus itch to know her mind. “But I don’t want to talk about me. I want to talk about you. Your hopes. Your dreams. Everything you want out of life.”

“Wow.” Caroline laughed, shaking her head with a wide smile. The melancholy tension broke and Caroline reached out to take Klaus’s hand into hers. Their palms touched, a comforting tingle gracing upon their skin. “Just to be clear, I’m too smart to be seduced by you.”

“Well, that is why I like you.” Klaus held her gaze, refusing to turn away. His fingers tracing the lines on her palm as though he was reading her fortune. “So, I told you how I ended up in the wrong end of Paris. What about you? How does a beautiful and intelligent young American woman like you end up working as a dancer in a club just outside the worst part of the city?” 

“Well that is a very long and complicated story.” 

“The longer the story, the longer I get to spend with you.”

“Did I not tell you once that flattery will get you nowhere?” She teased, her tone playful and happy. She bit her lip and cocked her head. Klaus could see the wheels turning in her mind, deciding where in her story she should start. “I guess I could give you the condense version and you’ll just have to spend more time with me to learn the rest.” 

“I think that is a challenge I can handle.” Klaus looked down at their hands that were still linked together. Skin against skin and he felt closer to her than he had any previous intimate partners. Klaus would never admit that he was a romantic and was not one to believe in love at first sight but he could not deny the attraction he felt to Caroline. “So, Caroline Forbes, tell me who you are.”

“Well, I was born in a small town in Virginia. I have no siblings and my father left my mother and I when I was fourteen.” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “I had not seen him for a few years until his death was announced when I was seventeen. My mother and I were living in Boston at the time when the news reached us. He was involved in an accident. He died immediately upon impact.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be. It’s something I’ve made peace with a long time ago.”

“Why did you move to Boston? Family?”

“No. No. My mother and I left for my education. See, she always wanted the best for me. She pushed me to embrace my...intelligence. She wanted me to study and make something of myself and become someone that history would remember. I, on the other hand, wanted to dance. I had been doing it since I was very young. My mother indulged me but it was not something she wanted for me. She wanted me to become everything that she was unable to be.” A look of remembrance graced her features. It was a bittersweet and joyful expression, one that made Klaus realize that her past was not something painful for her. “I traveled a bit after she died. Visited Paris and met Kat. She needed a lead dancer. I’ve been here ever since.”

“You’re happy there.” It wasn’t a question but instead, a statement. He could see it. Her happiness was infectious like a ray of sunlight that cursed away the darkness. If he had met Caroline in England, he never would have suspected that she would be a woman who was involved in such a life. He was honest with Stefan when he said that he did not care that Caroline had been with other men, but that did not mean he liked to think about it. “Can I ask what it is about it that makes you happy? The dancing, the club, debauchery and the men?” 

“Is this a clever way of asking about my sexual past?” Caroline teased, not appearing offended by the question. If she had been another lady, one who lived a proper life, sheltered from the depravity of the world, Klaus knew it would have scandalized her. But this Caroline was not some blushing maiden, she was a woman who Klaus could only assume saw more of the world than she let on. “Why? Are you jealous?” 

“Very.”

“Don’t be.” Caroline whispered back to him. “The answer is simple. I like to dance. The club is home. Debauchery, well it's fun.” She leaned in close to him then, her face inches from his and Klaus could feel her breathe against his lips. “And what can I say? The men? Well, is it a crime to like sex?”

“No. It's not.” Klaus leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, tasting the wine on her tongue. Klaus’s hands went to her face, cupping her cheek and taking control of the kiss. Caroline followed his lead willingly, her hands gripping his shoulders and her nails digging into the fabric of his coat. Neither cared that they were in public nor about the impropriety of their actions. This was not the French Court or the English Ton, they were not upper class citizens that cared about the prying eyes of those around them. The patrons of the pub had seen far worse than a passionate kiss. 

Caroline moaned into his lips, tilting her head just enough to press herself as close as possible as the table and chairs would allow. Klaus’s thumb traced her cheekbone while his free hand gripped her hip. Their lips and tongues moved for a moment, a synchronized dance that neither wanted to end; a performance that they were the stars of. Caroline broke away when she felt her body needing to breath and Klaus looked down at her lips. They were full and red, blush spreading against her white skin and Klaus had never seen a more beautiful sight. 

“The men I’ve been with, it's’ always been my choice.” Caroline told him in a low tone, still breathless from their kiss. “Kat doesn’t sell us. She doesn’t make us do anything we don’t want. If someone wants to be in my bed, payment or no, it's always my choice. If I don’t want to have sex with someone, I don’t. If I receive payment, well, that's just a bonus but I do not sell myself to the highest bidder. Do you understand what I’m saying?” 

“Perfectly.” Klaus whispered back, reading between her words. Caroline has sex becasue she enjoys it and not becuase it is something she needs to survive. If she wanted to end it, she could at any time. Klaus did not like to share and the idea of having to share Caroline was not a concept he was willing to accept. Watching her dance, sing and perform is one thing and something Klaus would continue to witness and enjoy but the idea of another man touching her had the jealous monster roaring in his veins. Even after nothing more than two kisses, he knew that he wanted Caroline to himself. “I don’t want to pay you for your time, Sweetheart. I just want you. All of you.” 

“Good.” Caroline leaned in and kissed him gently, a sharp contrast from the kiss they had shared moments ago. The smile on Caroline’s lips caused a bubble of hope to form in the pit of Klaus’s stomach, telling him that this would not be the last time he saw her; and that there was a chance of continuing to uncover everything about her that drove him wild. 

They finished their wine, the alcohol warming their bodies and their laughter echoing around the pub as people came and went. The banter that flowed between Klaus and Caroline was easy and almost like second nature. The more he spoke to her, the more his questions grew. With each answer, more questions were presented to him. He knew that Caroline was being honest and open, not withholding anything but Klaus felt that there was something missing; a piece of the puzzle that prevented it from becoming complete. The date inked on the back of her shoulder blade lingered in his mind. 

“What is going to happen on April 3, 1867? What are you looking forward to?” Klaus had asked, after hours of sitting in that seedy little pub. More people have filled in and out, the noise level rose and the boisterous sound of drunkards surrounded them. The smell of stale ale and spilled wine lingered but neither seemed to mind. “And why is it inked on your skin?” 

“Lets just say, that something very important will happen on that day. Something I very much look forward to.” Caroline answered, her tone vague but kind. There was a lingering look of mischief and Klaus knew that he was not going to get anymore answers out of her about the date, not that night. “As for the inking, well, I had that done before I came to Paris.”

“So, in Boston then?” Klaus drained the last sip of his glass and sat it back down upon the table. The wine bottle was empty and the night had grown late. While the alcohol would keep them warm, Klaus knew that the air was far colder in the middle of the night when most of the world was asleep. Klaus held out his hand, offering to help Caroline stand and she slipped hers into his hand. Once standing, she reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a pair of warm gloves that she had not been wearing earlier, pulling them onto her hands. She looped her arm through Klaus’s offered one and the two of them made their way towards the door, passing Marcel as they left. 

“Yes. I got the tattoo in Boston before I moved to Paris. It was about, three years ago now, I think.” Caroline furrowed her brow, tapping her fingers against her thumb on her free hand as though she was thinking. “Yes. That sounds about right.”

“Three years? I thought I would have seen you before now.” 

“Oh. Perhaps my dates are off but it's been two or three years I think. I’ve done some traveling here and there since coming here. Strange how quickly time goes when you’re not paying attention.” There was something strange in Caroline’s tone, almost as though she was not completely honest with her answer but Klaus decided not to push, assuming that the time she had left Boston and moved to Paris all blurred together. 

“Speaking of time. I cannot stop thinking about your friend Lorenzo and his theories. How did you come to be in possession of his journal?” Klaus asked, squeezing her arm gently, providing any ounce of warmth he could offer as they strolled down the street, breathing in the cold January air. “Did he pass on?”

“No. Lorenzo is very much alive but he is in my past.” Caroline replied, a humored smile lips on her lips as he could see the memory of him pass over her face. Klaus thought that seeing the obvious affection for another man would bother him but there was something about this Lorenzo that made Klaus feel as though he had nothing to fear from him. Even if Caroline held onto some material items of this past love. “I’ve known him since I was very young. He was my best friend and worst enemy in Boston. When I said goodbye to him, before moving here, it was the best thing I’ve ever done. His journal is just a piece of my past that reminds me how I got to a point in my life where I’m happier.”

“Yeah. I understand. More than you know.” Klaus nodded, thinking on his life in Paris compared to the one in England. When he was studying at Oxford, he felt as though he was following in the footsteps Mikael had set out for him with little choice. He had wanted to paint or do something with his hands, creating something beautiful that would bring some form of happiness to those who gazed upon it. Yet, in Paris, having lost everything and built a life for himself gave him more happiness than all the riches in the world. While he missed his siblings, he now knew that he could not leave the little shop in a less than glamorous part of Paris where he tickered, built and designed watches. “My father, my birth father, left me a golden fob watch and it reminds me of how far I’ve grown from the man I was ten years ago.” 

“That watch is your Lorenzo.” 

“I suppose it is.” Klaus chuckled, turning a corner on the cobbled street; the club coming into view. There was a carriage parked on the side, the horse still attached to the front and an uncomfortable looking driver was waiting patiently at his post. Laughter could be heard around the streets as some people left the club, stumbling in their drunken stuppers. “I take it Lorenzo was a Harvard man?” 

“What makes you say that?” Caroline asked, stopping a few feet from the club entrance. Her eyes were alight with curiosity and a pleased smirk on her lips. There was a feeling of pride swelled up in his chest, delighted at the idea of making her happy. 

“Katherine, she called you ‘Harvard’ tonight. It confused me for a moment but I suppose if this Lorenzo was at Harvard when you knew him, I suppose it makes sense.” Klaus shrugged and Caroline gave a small chuckle as she pulled her arm from his. She slipped off her glove and reached up to touch the side of his face, stroking his skin gently with her bare hand. She leaned forward, taking his lips with hers; kissing him tenderly. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Caroline pulled away, her warm breath grazing his lips.

“You’re a clever man, Klaus Mikaelson.” 

“And one of the many things I like about you Caroline, you’re so much more than a pretty face.”

“What can I say? I’m a genius.” Caroline whispered just before pulling away and turning into the club. She looked coyly over her shoulder and Klaus could see a scandalous sway to her hips as she entered the club. Klaus watched her until the tail end of her skirt was out of sight, leaving him to feel the cold fall over him when the warmth of her kiss faded. With a smirk, Klaus turned around, slipping his hands into his pockets and strolled back down the cobbled street towards Stefan’s rooming house. 

_ “Time is nothing more than a series of numbers, a measurement similar to that of a distance. With the right formula, time is nothing more than a two way distance. Too and from one can move one point to another.” _

As January morphed into February, Klaus spent almost all of his free time at the small burlesque club, watching Caroline perform. He would bring her gifts and flowers, trying his best to woo her but never trying to seduce her into his bed. Klaus wanted her, that was something they both knew but he wanted to crack the mystery of her mind first, needing to put all the pieces together before he watched her fall apart in his arms.

Their time was spent in different parts of the city, taking in the sights as they stole soft touches and kissed passionately in moments when others were not looking. Sunday afternoons were spent strolling through the parks on sunny days when the chill was not horrible. Klaus reveled in her company and her absence caused his mind wandered towards her. The days dragged on and Klaus’s evenings he found himself at the club watching her perform. Their eyes would always lock, for Caroline would seek him out in the crowd. Klaus would make his way behind the stage, ignoring Katherine’s glares as he went. She never said anything to him but Klaus got the sense that Katherine knew more than he did, about whatever mystery he had left to solve.

All he knew was he wanted to spend the rest of his days solving the mystery that was Caroline Forbes. 

It was a boring Tuesday when the world shifted. February was not kind and on the Monday before, Klaus found himself walking back to his shop after he had hand delivered a fob watch to a wealthy man who was seeking his services for a gift for his daughter. The man did not live far from his shop, walking distance and the delivery did not take long; an hour at most. The watch was silver and Klaus took the time to carve an elegant design on the metal, something feminine and pretty for the young debutant. Just because his dreams of becoming a painter did not pan out, it did not mean he could not create art on the watches he built. 

Klaus had his hands buried in his pocket to keep warm. He pulled his coat around his body, blocking the cold air from seeping into his bones, praying that it did not snow. Winter was always a slow season for business, for most of the wealthy were not in the city but he did well enough for himself. The winters were not as harsh as the ones back in England but they still had a chill that made his skin feel cracked and dry. 

He made another left and crossed the street, avoiding a carriage that rolled past and the bodies of people milling about in the crowd. He rounded a corner, a sight of a man sprinting down the alleyway catching his eye but he missed seeing his face as the man rounded a corner. Klaus paused, gazing down the alleyway; his brows creased in confusion and he shook his head. Yet, he could not shake the feeling as though an important event had just occurred. 

He pulled the skeleton keys from his shop out of his pocket and slid it into the lock, turning and pushing the door open. The bell over head rang slightly and Klaus shut the door behind him. He glanced around the shop, noting that everything was in the same place it had been when he left an hour before. The shop was small, a huge window in the front, hardwood flooring and a small sales desk where the till was kept. Around the shop were a few glass cases, that showcased a few sample watches that he had made and designs he was able to etch onto them. 

Klaus moved around the till to a small doorway that led to the back and where his workshop was located, pausing. The small gas lamp that hung on the wall was turned on but he could have sworn that he had turned it off before he left to make his delivery. He shook his head and pulled his black coat off his shoulders, hanging it on the coat rack that was near the door. The workshop was messy with a large wooden table in the center and a stool resting just behind it. The table was littered with several items from watchcastings, bolts, springs and tools tossed haphazardly around. There was a big golden magnifying glass that Klaus used when building the watches. To the left of the table was a large bay window that looked out into the alleyway behind the building. To the right was a door that revealed the stairwell to the flat that was located above the shop. 

Klaus pulled a package from the pocket of his coat and moved around the table to a painting that he had painted shortly after meeting Ansel for the first time. He gripped the wooden frame and lifted it off the wall to reveal a small safe nestled behind it. He turned the dial, entering the date that he arrived in Paris and opened it. He pulled out the leather pouch he used to keep his franc nestled inside. He slipped the payment he received upon the delivery of the watch and added the money to the pile and paused. Klaus pursed his lips, counting the franc that was in his hand, several coins were missing. 

He counted again, the number not adding up. It was not much, not even ten franc were missing but it was sizable enough for Klaus to realize that something was amiss. He shook his head, knowing that he would have to check his books and see where he had made a mistake in his math, or if he had sat the money in another location. He glanced around the shop again, noting that nothing was out of place and he wondered if he had placed the money in the flat upstairs. 

Before he could inquire more, there was a sharp knock on the door to the shop. He had not planned on reopening for the rest of the day but slipped the money into the leather pouch, shut it into the safe and locked it before hanging the painting up. He walked around the table and through the doorway to see the unexpected sight of Caroline standing just outside the large windows. She spotted him, her smile grew wide and she held up what looked like a bottle of wine and a small bag slung over her shoulder. Klaus felt excitement pool in his stomach and he went to open the door, allowing Caroline to slide inside, listening to the sound of the bell over their heads. He closed the door, locking it behind him before turning to watch Caroline look around the shop. 

“What are you doing here?” Klaus asked, the tone setting off the joy that he felt by her surprise. “I was planning on swinging by the club tonight to see if you were dancing. I was hoping we could head down to a pub or something when you’re done.” 

“Not tonight. Kathereine has a new girl, Genevive and wants to break her in. So I’m free and I thought that I would come to you since you always come to me.” Caroline leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “And I brought the pub to us. It's cold and it feels like a good night inside. That is unless you had something specific in mind.”

“No. A night in sounds good.” Klaus replied, enjoying the thought of being fully alone with Caroline. They had always met at the club and been in dark corners of pubs or the park. The privacy was minimal but enough to get to know her, but it lacked the intimacy he craved. He had never felt right asking her to come to his shop or the flat above; wanting to prove to her that he wanted her for more than just her body. Her appearance and seeing her in the place he worked made him realize just how much he wanted her in his world. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.” Caroline pressed the bottle of wine to his chest and looked around the shop, peeking her head into the glass cases and admiring his handy work. Her pointer finger reached out and touched the glass, tracing it as though she was touching the fob watches behind the case. “So this is where the magic happens. You know, Stefan told me that you were talented but I have to admit, this surpassed all my expectations.” 

“You and Stefan were talking about me I see.” 

“Briefly. He came to the club this afternoon. I think Kat might have killed him if I wasn’t there.” Caroline laughed, turning back to Klaus, who was turning down the gas lamp and reached for her hand. Caroline happily slipped her fingers through his and he guided her towards the workshop. “I think he has bitten off more than he can chew because none of the girls want to pose for him.” 

“You did.” Klaus teased, his smile infectious. He looked back to the memory of his meeting with Caroline with pleasure; both for the advice she had provided and for the memory of her body to be used for the nights he laid in bed alone. Part of him wanted to ask to buy the photos of Caroline when Stefan had them fully developed but wondered how his friend would take such a request; or how Caroline would feel at him having them. 

“Yes. Well, I have my reasons.” She did not say more and Klaus was not going to push her. Caroline took her coat off and hung it on the rack beside his, as though it had always belonged there. Klaus turned on a few more of the gas lamps, causing a light glow to enter the room before he sat the bottle of wine on the table. He headed to the shelf on the back wall, pulling two glasses down from the top and setting them beside the bottle. He opened the wine and poured two generous helpings into the glass. “My my, Mr. Mikaelson, drinking at work. What must your patrons think of you?” 

“Honestly, I could be the biggest drunkard that Paris has ever seen and as long as my product is good, they wouldn’t care.” He held out a glass for Caroline and she took it happily. They clinked the glasses together before each taking a long sip of the wine; Klaus watching as her lips were stained red from the wine. Her dress was a deep red and the bodice was tightly fitted like most of her dresses. She wore a black choker and a series of pearls that rested in her cleavage. If she had been a proper lady, her dress would have been scandalous but Klaus did not want one of those proper women, he wanted Caroline. 

“The biggest drunkard in all of Paris. Well that is a mighty feat. If I would not be concerned about my future I might be impressed.” Klaus grinned at her words, as she leaned against the window ledge. She cocked her head to the side and one of her loose curls grazed her shoulder. He sat down upon the stool, resting his elbow against the wood. “Tell me, do I need to be worried about the man courting me who has a drinking problem?” 

“Courting you?” 

“Is that not what this is?” Caroline inquired. She held a look of mischief in her eye and the corners of her lips turned upward. “You spend most of you free time watching me dance and the nights that I am free, we go to pubs and dinner and there was the night you took me to the theater. Sundays you take me on carriage rides and walks in the park” She swirled the wine in her glass, watching as the red liquired danced. “I must say that you really know how to woo a girl.”

“Is it working?” 

“Perhaps. Although, I cannot quite understand why you have put so much effort into it.”

“I fancy you. Is that so hard to believe?” 

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m just a dancer in a club.” She paused, looking at Klaus with heavy eyes. She set the glass of wine down on the ledge of the bay window and walked over to Klaus. She stood between his legs and reached down to take his face between her hands. “I don’t regret the life I’ve lived. I’ve never been happier than dancing in that club or even the men I’ve been with. I know it would scandalize the world to say such things but it's true.” She gave a humorless laugh and stroked his cheeks with her thumbs. “Even my parents would be shocked and that says something. For I’ve tossed everything they did for me away in search of happiness.” 

“I don’t care where you’ve been Caroline. You know that.” He turned his head just enough to kiss the palm of her hand. He reached up to take her free one into his grasp, giving it a tight squeeze. “I won’t lie that I want to be your only from this point onward but I would never judge you for your past or stop you from dancing. It's something you love and taking that away would be ruining a part of you. That is not something I am capable of.” 

Caroline leaned down and kissed his lips. Klaus could feel every ounce of passion in her kiss and he knew that he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. He could taste the wine on her lips, mixed with an essence that was purely Caroline. It was becoming his favorite taste in the world and equally his favorite feeling. He did not care that it was improper for them to be alone, for he never cared for such things, nor did he care about the scandalous nature of her life. He wanted to do right by her but he also wanted  _ her.  _

“I knew you would come for me one day but I didn’t expect just how deeply I would fall for you.” Caroline whispered as their lips broke apart. She rested her head against his forehead, their breaths mingling with one another. Klaus was still dazed by the kiss that her words barely registered, his mind slowly trying to make sense of what she had just confessed. “Can I tell you a secret?” 

“Anything. Everything. I want to know everything there is to know about you.”

“There is no Lorenzo St. John.” Caroline replied, pulling back every so slightly. Klaus gave her a confused look. “I made him up. He never existed. The journal. The ramblings. The formulas. They’re all mine. I wrote it. But I couldn’t just put my name on it. I needed you to see it without a bias because none of it makes sense. I’m a woman. A woman who wrote insane ravings about the concept of time.”

“Thats-”

“Mad I know.” 

“No. I mean, yes but it's also brilliant.” Klaus told her, standing so he was towering over her. He placed a hand on the crook of her neck, cupping her chin gently as he traced his thumb along her jaw. “You’re brilliant. This is what was missing wasn’t it. That piece of you that was just hidden away. How did I not see that they were your words? Every word, number and theory is _ you _ . It wasn’t a man you left behind in Boston. It was yourself. An old bittersweet love, you had said.”

“You’re not angry that I hid it from you? Deceived you?” Caroline gazed up at him and he could see the worry lingering in her eyes. There was something strange about the journal, something that plagued him as strange. Something just did not add up and yet he could not imagine how he missed the obvious. “Klaus?” 

“Your mind is so beautiful. A genius. How could I be angry when you’re showing me a part of yourself that no one else gets to see.” He kissed her again, this time it was gentle but there was a sizzling current that ran between them. It wasn’t enough and he could not convey the depth of what he was feeling in that moment. “No secret you hold will make me turn from you. Not a single one.”

“Do you promise? Because there is so much I have to show you.”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Caroline pressed her body to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her tongue pleading for entrance. Klaus could feel that this kiss was different; burning and desperate. All barriers between them had all but crumbled and the dance they had been practicing for the last few weeks broke in that moment. Klaus could not help but bring her body as close to his as possible, her breasts pressed against his chest, the corset of her dress making them become more pronounced. Caroline’s fingers weaved into Klaus’s sandy blonde curls and he could feel her nails scraping against his scalp. Klaus slowly backed her up until her back was pressed against the wall. His hands gripped her hips tightly and his teeth nipped at her lower lip. His eyes fluttered open and he gazed down into her face, the dazed look that she returned made him toss her a filthy grin, one she happily returned. 

“Do you want this? Because I won’t be able to turn back once I’ve had you.” Klaus asked, needing to know that she was all in. Once he had her in his bed, Klaus didn’t want her anywhere else. The dancing was something that was a part of her and that he would never dream of taking away but he wanted to be the only one who was able to touch her. “Do you want me?”

“Yes. Only you.” The grin on his lips grew wider and he flipped her around, pressing the front of her body against the wall. The palm of her hands rested there, curving her nails into the faded blue wallpaper. Klaus reached up and gripped her blonde updo, arching her head to the side. His lips descended down upon her neck, kissing and sucking at her skin; lightly biting at the pearls that hung down well into her cleavage. “I should have known you would like to take control in bed.” 

“I want you at my mercy.” He whispered slowly, his hot breath gracing the side of her ear. He nipped at her ear lobe, taking the skin between his teeth and biting gently. His hand roughly pulled the pins from her hair, tossing them to the ground and gripping her curls tightly in his hand. His free hand moved to the seam of her dress, pulling at the ties to make it loose around her body. “I want you screaming my name as I make you come apart with my fingers, my tongue and my cock inside you. I want to make you forget that anything else existed.” 

“Yes. Please.” Caroline whimpered as Klaus pulled at the blood red dress, yanking it down her body. She moved her hands from the wall, letting her arms slip from the sleeves of her dress and watching as it fell to the ground around her feet. Klaus roughly pulled at the underskirt, the small hoop, tearing as he yanked it down her legs; but Caroline did not care. She kicked the dress to the side, out of the way and stood in nothing more than her short pantaloons and her corset. Klaus pressed her against the wall again, kissing the base of her neck and his teeth nipping at the small black tattoo on her shoulder. 

_ April 3, 1867 _

The date burned in his mind as his lips caressed the letters. His tongue peeking out from his lips as he traced the date with it. His mouth widened slightly, biting into her shoulder and sucking on her skin as she moaned out his name. He gripped her hair tightly again, pulling her head to the side to give him access to her neck. His other hand moved to her front, gripping her breasts through the corset and giving it a squeeze. 

He pulled away and spun her around, pressing her back against the wall. His lips descended upon hers, leaving a bruising kiss in his wake. His body was flush against hers, feeling her breasts and jewelry pressing into his chest. Her hands pulled at his suspenders, slipping them down off of his shoulder before moving to the front of his breeches in hopes of pulling them open. Klaus reached down and gripped her wrist, stopping her. He pulled back and looked down into her face. Caroline’s lips were flushed from his kiss. Her hair was in complete disarray and her chest heaved as she breathed heavily. 

“How does someone so beautiful, so intelligent and passionate exist?” Klaus asked as his palm pressed against the wall next to her head; his free hand trailing from her waist to the bottom of her corset. “And how are you here with me?” Klaus added in a whisper, feeling her garter and stockings before his hand gripped the inside of her thigh. Caroline just blinked at him through her long dark eyelashes, her breath catching in the back of her throat as the heat from his fingers burned on her skin. At a torcherous pace, he slid his fingers between her legs and touched her clit, feeling her juices seeping onto his finger. “You’re already so wet for me. Wanting me.” 

“Yes. I want you. Please. Don’t be mean.” Caroline asked as she dragged her foot up his leg, hooking it around his hip. Klaus pressed his finger harder against her clit, circling it faster and faster. Caroline gripped his hips, digging her nails into the loose suspenders. His finger slid down the length of her slip, dipping inside of her; curing to scrap against that spot just above her opening. “Klaus!” 

Klaus added a second finger and began thrusting them in and out of her, the palm of his hand gracing her clit. He watched the expression on her face, her jaw slacking and her eyes fluttering shut. Her plush lips parted and her head fell back against the wall. He could feel himself growing harder, his arousal straining against his breeches as he continued to thrust inside her. Her hips rotated against his fingers, riding them as she sought out the pleasure that he was bringing her. Klaus leaned forward, kissing her lips before taking his fingers from out of her. 

Before Caroline could protest, Klaus lowered himself to his knees, hooking her leg over his shoulder and parted her lips. He took one long lick, this tongue tasting the unique flavor that was nothing but Caroline. She weaved her fingers through his hair, offering direction as Klaus slid his tongue over her nub. She tried to thrust down against his face but he reached up and gripped her hips, holding her still. 

“Scream for me.” Klaus muttered against her, the vibrations from his voice causing her to moan loudly. He moved one hand down past her garters and stockings, slipping his fingers back inside her; thrusting quickly as his tongue continued to massage and suck at her clit. Caroline pulled at his hair as she moaned louder and louder. He added a third finger inside her and nipped at her clit, causing Caroline to scream out his name. He could feel her falling apart and it wasn’t long before she was withering above him as her juices coated his lips. 

Klaus placed the last kiss on her clit before standing, slipping his fingers from her. He was barely on his feet before he had her flushed against the wall again, pulling her into a burning kiss; the taste of her mixing with the saliva of their kiss. Caroline’s hands went to the buttons on his trousers, snapping them open and pushing them down just far enough to allow his erection to spring free. She hooked her leg around his waist again as he lined his penis up with her entrance. He pushed himself inside her, surrounding himself in her heat. 

“Klaus.” Caroline breathed out his name as he rested his head against hers. He pushed himself inside her as far as he could go. He reached for her hands, linking their fingers together, dragging them against the wall and holding them above her head. Klaus leaned in and kissed her gently again, basking in the feeling of her body joined with his. “Move. I need to feel you move.” 

Another filthy smirk graced his lips and he began to withdraw his hips, almost sliding out of her completely until he slammed back inside her. She cried out at the force, her back slamming against the wall behind her. Klaus began to pick up speed, his thrusts becoming harder and more drawn out. He could not look away from her, seeing her bliss written over her face and how she couldn’t hold her eyes open. He could feel the bones of her corset pressing into his chest as he moved over her; her breasts nearly slipping from the top. He slid his hands down her arms to grip the him of her corset, pulling at the offending fabric. 

“Off. I need this off of you.” Klaus hissed, pulling back and his member slipping out from her. He pushed his trousers the rest of the way down his legs while Caroline pulled his remaining clothing from his body, tossing them to the side. As she stood naked before her, Caroline could not help but let her eyes examine every inch of him, just as he had done the night he first laid eyes on her. Her hands then trailed down his naked chest, causing him to hiss as her nails scratched his nipples. “Enough. My turn.” 

Klaus spun her around for a third time and began pulling at the laces of her corset. He opened it enough to pull it over her head and toss it around his workshop. He pulled the pantaloons down and left her in nothing more than the garter that held up her stockings. He pressed her front up against the wall and aligned himself with her again, thrusting into her forcefully. 

“Yes! Like that. Right there!” Caroline cried out, not caring if anyone heard her, her hands laying flat against the wall, bracing herself. Harder and harder, Klaus pounded into her. He had one arm around her waist, securing her so she did not fall while the other gripped her chin, tilting her head so she could kiss him. When their kiss broke, their eyes locked; neither willing to look away as they basked in the feeling of Klaus being inside her. He curved his hips, changing the angle just slightly to hit a sensitive part that made her cry out his name. “Klaus! Oh god! Yes. Yes! Don’t stop.”

“Never.”

“The windowsill. Take me to the windowsill.” Caroline moaned out, and at her command, Klaus slid out of her again. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the bay window, Caroline perching herself on the ledge. Once seated, she spread her legs and Klaus gripped her hips, pushing himself inside her for a third time. He put his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back until her back was pressed against the cold glass of the window. The sun had fully set and the only light was from the few windows that lined the alleyway. The sound of slapping skin and their cries of pleasure filled the room. 

“So much more beautiful than I remember.” Klaus bit out as his hands traced her naked body. He palmed her breasts completly and pinched her erect nippels. Caroline screamed at the pinch, her body arching into his touch. Klaus gripped the pearls that were around her neck and pulled her back up into a seated position in order to kiss her again. He could feel his release coming on as his thrusts became more and more frantic. Caroline reached between them and started circling her clit, faster and faster until he could feel her muscles squeeze around him.

“Klaus! Fuck! Klaus! Fuck!” Hearing her scream out his name and the feeling of her shattering around him pushed him over the edge. His entire body stilled as he spilled himself inside her. He should have pulled out but he could not bring himself to care. He could feel his heart beating in his ears and his body was drenched in sweat. Caroline wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. He pulled back and she lifted her head, an almost shy smile on her lips. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He leaned down and kissed her gently. He slipped out of her, causing her to whimper into his lips as he did. They broke apart and moved to clean themselves up. Klaus pulled a few clean rags from the cabinet and cleaned himself off. He strolled back over to Caroline, still naked and handed her one of the rags. She dried off the evidence of their lovemaking from her thighs. Klaus reached out and unhooked her garters and slid the stockings down her legs, his fingers grazing her skin gently. Caroline looked at him strangely, a question written all over her face. “Stay. Tonight. Just. Stay with me.” 

Caroline reached out and cupped his face, a warm smile on her lips. She kissed him gently. Klaus’s eyes fluttered shut, as he enjoyed the feeling of her lips. It was not like the kisses they had previously shared. There was a promise written between them. An understanding that this was more than just a moment of passion and that it was not the last time he would have her in his arms. 

“Okay. I’ll stay.” 

They did not get much sleep that night. Klaus had taken her up to the small flat he had above the shop. His flat was larger than Stefan’s. For it was more than one room. There was a small dining area and a place for him to prepare his meals. There were also a few settees and chairs around a fireplace. One wall was a giant bookshelf filled with books and there were several pieces of artwork on the wall that he told Caroline he had done over the years. There was a separate room where he slept. It had a dresser for his clothes and a comfortable size bed pressed up against the wall. Klaus and Caroline rarely left the bed that night, basking in each other’s presence and making love over and over at different points in the night. They had a very small supper at the table in the main room, neither dressed and it ended with Caroline spread out across it, crying out Klaus’s name once again. 

When the morning sun peeked through, both Klaus and Caroline laid in the bed, letting the morning take them. Caroline was laying on her stomach, her back bare to the world while a blanket covered her from the waist down. Klaus was propped up on his elbow, his finger tracing a long line down her spine. He was perched up on his elbow, gazing down at her face, taking in the sleepiness that was written there. 

“Shouldn’t you be opening the shop soon?” Caroline asked, her voice still muffled with sleep. Klaus didn’t answer her, instead just leaning down to kiss her gently. She moaned lightly into his lips, but neither moved to progress it any further; for both were sore from the night before. When Klaus broke away, he pushed her blonde hair from her face and smiled warmly at her. “Hmm, good morning.”

“Good morning.” Klaus muttered, running his fingers through her hair gently, combing out some of the knots that had formed the night before. Caroline almost purred at the feeling, her eyes fluttering shut, allowing herself to enjoy the way his fingers grazed her skin. “I could open the shop but it's only a Tuesday. It won’t harm me to take one day and spend in bed with my beautiful girl.” 

“Your girl?” 

“If you want to be, because I want nothing else.” Klaus told her honestly. Caroline turned over onto her back, not caring that her breasts were bare to the cold air. She reached up and cupped his face and as though on instinct, Klaus tilted his head to kiss the palm of her hand. “I’m not playing with your affections, Caroline if that-”

“No, I know. It's not that.” Caroline whispered, pausing to think about her words carefully. Klaus’s face sunk in confusion, wondering what it was that could possibly be holding her back. Caroline had always seemed open with him but so closed off all at the same time. He knew that she was more than just a puzzle to be solved but Klaus had to admit that he wanted to know every inch of her. “Before you claim to want me, there is something I have to show you. So, get dressed.”

“What?” Klaus asked, baffled as he watched Caroline pull herself from the bed. He thought she would go for her pantaloons and corset but instead she moved to his dresser; pulling out the smallest pair of trousers she could find. He watched as she slipped them on and Klaus gazed at her in even more confusion. She pulled on one of his shirts, forgoing the vest and tucking the hem of his shirt into them before grabbing her small boots. “Sweetheart? What are you doing?” 

“I need you to trust me for a moment, okay? Please?” Caroline’s voice was so vulnerable and Klaus’s concern grew. Even on the night he had met her and she had not a stitch of clothes on her, he never detected such a vulnerable side to her. Caroline was bold and loud, everything a proper lady should not be and he was growing to love her for it. “Please. Just, trust me. Okay? At least until you change your mind.”

“Whatever it is, I’m not going to change my mind. There is no secret that you hold that could send me running.” Klaus told her, moving to pull out some of his clothes. Caroline watched as he dressed, slipping the shop key into his vest pocket out of habit. When he was ready, she turned to walk back into the main part of his flat. Klaus followed her and watched as she went to the small bag she head brought with her. Klaus watched as she pulled out something small, gripping it in her hand. “Caroline?”

“Your fob watch. The one your father gave you. Do you have it?” Caroline asked and Klaus nodded. He had set it on the fireplace the night before, ensuring that nothing happened to it before Klaus had taken Caroline to bed. He held it up to show her and she gave him a small smile before walking towards him, handing him a small photograph that was in her hand. Klaus took it without looking at it but then turned to gaze at the image. It was of Caroline. She was completely naked, lying on that couch in Stefan’s apartment. He knew it was taken just moments before they had met but there was something about the photograph that seemed strange. It seemed to be several years old for the image to fade and film had been exposed to too much light over a long period of time. “What? I don’t-”

“Turn it over.” 

Klaus followed her command, turning the photograph over in his hand to see a date written on the back.  _ April 3, 1867.  _ His heart leapt into his throat, not because of the photograph or the date that was written in an elegant scrawl but it was the handwriting that was familiar. Handwriting he looked at everyday. 

“This is my handwriting.” Klaus whispered, flipping the photograph over to gaze at Caroline’s naked body and then back again to see his handwriting. He had never seen this photograph before, nor had it in his possession to write that date on the back of it. “I don’t understand. What is going on? I didn’t write this date-”

“Hold your fob watch in your hand. Please. Everything will make sense. I promise.” Caroline pleaded and Klaus nodded, holding his father’s fob watch in his hand and the photograph between his fingers. Caroline reached into her small bag and pulled out a second watch. She reached for his empty hand and turned it so his palm was facing upward. She dropped the second watch into his hand. Klaus felt the world around him freeze. His eyes shifting between the two watches resting in his palms, his mind confusing the two; because they were more than just identical. 

“This is my father’s watch.” Klaus whispered, gazing at the one Caroline had placed in his hand. He turned it over, seeing his father’s name carved into the watch. He turned back to his, repeating the motion. It wasn’t that one watch was a copy of the other, a remake of the original, they were the exact same watch down to the detail. The knick on the side from when he dropped against the stone base of the fireplace and the scratches it had seen over the years as Klaus tossed it down on multiple surfaces were all there. “How? What is going on?”

“Remember that night we met? In Stefan’s room at the rooming house?” Caroline asked and Klaus nodded, still unsure if he could process what was going on. He thought back to that night, the memory of Caroline burned into his brain forever. “That night was the first night you met me, but it's not the first time I met you.” 

“What?”

“I met you for the first time on April 3, 1867.” Caroline told him and yet, the words made no sense to him. “You handed me a naked picture of myself and at first I was insulted, but then you quoted my thesis and gave me your fob watch like you knew me. I had no idea who you would be to me but I knew that our paths would cross again.” She grabbed the fob watch she had placed in his hand and brought his knuckles to her lips. “I didn’t realize that I would fall in love with you and all I ask is that you trust me, and let me show you.”

The confession slammed into him like a thousand bricks being dropped onto him all at once. Everything she had just told him and showed him did not compare. He was confused and baffled, but knew that those three words were the most honest thing she had ever said to him. Klaus knew how he felt and he knew that no matter what secret Caroline held, those feelings were not going to change. 

“I trust you. Show me whatever it is that you need too.” The smile that grew on Caroline’s lips could only be described as pure joy. The happiness that she radiated almost hurt and if it wasn’t for the fact that Klaus’s mind was so muddled, he would have leaned down to kiss her lips. He watched her as she took the photo from him and slipped it into the small bag that she was now slipping over her shoulder. She opened the fob watch she was holding and Klaus could see that the inside was changed. No longer were there just twelve roman numerals and hands pointing to them, instead there was a series of complicated notches and grooves that as a watchmaker, he had never seen before. Some numbers that looked like latitudes and longitudes while others looked like the telling of time. “What is that?”

“It's the concept of time.” The journal and the words written inside resurfaced. All of her theories of timing being a two way street yet set in a particular order were clicking into place. Caroline wanted him to read that journal because she knew that everything would come to this moment. But the question was how? “Leave your watch here. We won’t need it, and hold onto me, tightly.”

Not fully understanding what was happening, Klaus obeyed and sat the watch back on the fireplace before turning around and wrapping his arms around Caroline. He pulled her tightly to him, watching as she fussed with the second gold fob watch, turning the dial on the side in order to change the numbers inside the watch. The hand that pointed to a series of numbers changed Klaus gazed down and realized what she was setting the watch to;  _ a date _ . 

_ October 10, 2006 _

Caroline removed her fingers from the dial and the world around Klaus began to morph and change. Time speeding up and slowing down all at once. He felt his body being pulled in a thousand different directions and he pulled Caroline closer to him, feeling the pressure in his mind as he tried to grasp what was happening. Once the world had frightened itself, Klaus looked around him. Gone was the fireplace in his small flat or the creeks of his wooden floor boards. They were outside on a street that was not made of cobblestone but instead a sleek, hard black surface. Metal boxes surrounded them, parked as though they were carriages, one moving past them on its own accord without horses. Klaus jumped back, stumbling ever so slightly. Caroline grabbed his arm and straightened him.

“Be careful. You’ll be a bit disoriented at first.” His eyes were wide as he watched the metal box move away and tried to take in everything around him. He turned around to see a massive brick building behind them. There were tables on the grass and as he looked around, he could see a few very young people moving around. They were dressed strangely, for women were wearing tight pants and brightly colored tops while the men wore pants that appeared to be baggy and coats that had what appeared to be surnames on the back of them. “Welcome to Mystic Falls, Virginia. The year is 2006 and it is my fourteenth birthday.” 

“I don’t understand. How-”

“Come on. Best we go inside quickly before we attract too much attention.” Caroline grabbed Klaus’s hand and pulled him towards the building. They passed a few people on their way inside, each of them giving them confused expressions while Klaus just looked around baffled. A few of the people, who could not have been older than sixteen had strange mental devices pressed to their ear, and were talking into it. 

Caroline opened a large door that was not made of wood, instead a strange hard metal that he had never seen. She pushed a level that ran across the door and revealed a long hallway unlike anything Klaus had ever seen. The flooring was glossy and shined in a way that should not have been normal. The walls were lined with safe-looking cabinets that had locks on the handles. Caroline continued to drag him down the hallway, passing wooden doors with small windows in them. Klaus could see a few people inside them, all dress strangely and small desks that reminded him of his time at university. He looked towards the ceiling, seeing blocks of what appeared to be lamps embedded into the ceiling. 

“This is a school.” Klaus whispered, still unable to grasp what happened. His feet frozen in the middle of the hallway, causing Caroline to jerk back slightly. Klaus felt his heart beating furiously and his breathing picked up; fear coarse through him. “I don’t understand. What is happening? Caroline please. I don’t-”

“Shh. I know. Okay. I know.” She leaned up and kissed his lips lightly and Klaus could feel his heart rate begin to slow. He fell into the light kiss easily, feeling as though he was coming home after a very long day. “Just a little further and I’ll tell you everything. I’ll answer every question you have and I promise that I’ll never keep anything from you again. Okay?”

Klaus gazed down at her and he could see the honesty written in her expression. He nodded and allowed Caroline to pull him down another hallway and towards a set of massive double doors. He pushed them open, stepping through them. The room was dark and massive but Klaus could make out the rows and rows of seats. There was a stage in front, and Klaus first thought that this place was an opera house, but it couldn’t be for opera houses and schools were not in the same building.

There was music flowing from all around him and yet he could not find the band. It was louder than anything he had heard, almost deafening. The music was a slow melody and one that he did not recognize. His eyes focused on the stage in front of him. It was lit up in a way that should not be possible; light coming down from the ceiling making the young woman on stage the focus. Klaus stepped forward, his eyes transfixed on the scene before him. A young girl was dancing, her body moving to the music in such a melancholy way that it struck Klaus deep in his soul. Her arms and legs twirled, her blonde hair flowing with her movements. There were some mistakes, Klaus could tell. A stumble here or a twist there, a dancer who had not yet perfected her craft; but Klaus knew who he was staring at.

It was Caroline. 

“Up on that stage, I had just turned fourteen. My parents were fighting constantly and I was finishing my last year of high school and I was miserable. The only freedom I felt I had was when I was dancing. I pushed and pushed myself to perfect it, knowing that it was a passion I was never going to be able to pursue, but I’m stubborn and when I set my sights on something, I set out to accomplish it.”

“How? How is this possible? How am I talking to you here but you’re also up there? What is going on?” Klaus implored, his head feeling clearer than it had moments before. Perhaps it was the music or the sight of the woman who transfixed him from the moment he met her, dancing up on that stage. The sight of her, so clearly sad and lonely, ate at him. He turned to look at  _ his  _ Caroline, seeing no hint of sadness written in the lines of her face; only worry. 

“I was born on October 10, 1992, one-hundred and twenty-five years before we met for the very first time.” Caroline reached down, taking Klaus’s hand into hers, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. “By the time I was six months old, I was already spelling out words. Reading was a skill I mastered by the time I was two. School was easy. I spoke five languages by the time I was eight. My parents had me tested and my IQ, or I should say, my intelligence was that of a gifted child.” 

“You’re a genius.” Klaus muttered back, remember the teasing words she had spoken to him in the past. Caroline laughed lightly, her eyes flickering to the stage, making sure that her younger self was still dancing, flowing to the music that still came from nowhere. “You told me that you moved to Boston for your education. Shortly after your father left?” 

“Yes. You see, after I leave this auditorium or she leaves.” Caroline motioned to the stage. “I will go home to find my father gone and my mother a wreck. The next day an early acceptance to Harvard comes in the mail. Full ride. Child prodigy and all that.” 

“But, Harvard doesn’t accept women. Sorry. I mean you’re brilliant and its poppycock-”

“I’m not offended, Klaus. I know but let's just say that women's rights come a long way in a hundred and twenty-five years.” Caroline soothed, gripping his hand as she spoke. “I finished highschool by the time I was fourteen. My mother dropped everything, quit her job and moved us to Boston. She worked as a police officer.” Klaus’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. A woman police officer? It was something unheard of but he remained silent. Caroline’s lips turned upward, creating a small smile to linger on her lips. “I was the youngest person at my university and let me tell you, it doesn’t make you a ton of friends.”

“You were lonely.” Klaus replied, forming the words as a statement and not a question. He looked to the young girl, still dancing on the stage and he could see it. Caroline had been different from a young age and that set her apart from her peers. Klaus thought everyone of them fools. He had known that Caroline was special, that there was something magnificent about her but even he did not grasp just how wonderful she was until this moment. “You’re extraordinary.” 

“Thank you but I’ll be honest. I didn’t see that at the time. I was rather insecure.” Caroline shook her head, not wanting to dwell on thoughts that were in her past. “I got a bachelor degree in Mathematics by age seventeen, around the time we learned my father had died. My mom tried to track him down, get him to come to my graduation but instead she had learned he died in a car accident in Georgia.”

“Whats a car?”

“Those horseless carriages.” Caroline replied, not bothering to elaborate. “Anyway, I continued studying. Worked for my masters, with the goal of getting my PHD in both mathematics and physics. I still danced on the side but never professionally, it was just something I enjoyed but it was nothing more than a hobby. My mom was so proud of me. Everytime I achieved an A+ on an exam and on the day I was handed my masters degree, she was so happy. I think she was what kept me going for a long time. Kept studying even though my heart wasn’t in it.”

“How did she die?” Klaus asked, remembering Caroline telling him that her mother had died when she was nineteen. His heart broke for her, knowing the pain of losing one's parents. While Caroline’s life was shaping out to be far more extraordinary than he ever could have imagined, there was still one thing everyone had in common and that was grief. 

“Cancer.” Caroline just shrugged and Klaus could feel her studying him. There was such a fixation in her gaze that he could imagine the younger Caroline, the one on the stage, looking down at a pile of books, flipping through their pages and absorbing everything that they had to offer. “I’m okay. It was almost eleven years ago now. You know, some people say that the moment you hit thirty, everything is put in perspective. While that's a load of bullshit, there is some truth to that. She isn’t suffering anymore and I have made peace with that.”

“But what about Caroline at nineteen?” 

“Oh she shut down. Completely.” Caroline gave a humorless laugh, one that Klaus knew was nothing more than a shield. “I threw myself into my studies. Dancing held no pleasure for me anymore, it became nothing more than a form of exercise. I pushed and pushed myself into my thesis, never letting myself rest or enjoy life. The loneliness I felt on that stage, doesn’t compare to what I felt when she died.” 

“I’m so sorry.” Klaus leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Everything was still so confusing, and nothing made sense but in this, he could empathize. Death was something that he was not a stranger too and it saddened him that neither was Caroline. “When my father, Ansel, died, I once again felt like the world was crashing in around me. I had barely known the man but he taught me more than living with my mother and Mikael, ever had.” 

“Death is a fickle thing, isn't it?” Klaus nodded in agreement, realizing that music had been shut off. He turned to look back at the younger Caroline again. She was no longer dancing, but instead, she was sitting on the edge of the stage, gazing down at something in her hand. Klaus looked at the young Caroline, filled with potential that had not yet been fulfilled. He wondered if she knew then, everything that she would be capable of; if she knew what she would discover. “Tell me what you’re thinking. Please?”

“The journal. Your journal.  _ The concept of time. _ You studied time.” Klaus stated in an awed tone. He thought back to the journal she had given him, the madness that was written within was her own penmanship. It was more than the ramblings of her fantastical mind. It was Caroline’s life work. It was what she had thrown herself into when her mother died. She studied the impossible and succeeded. She cracked the unbreakable code of time; something that Klaus could never have dreamed was possible. Over and over again, she discussed time as though it was a method of travel in the journal; a road that could easily be taken and not simply a measurement of the days that had passed nor those that had yet to come. 

“ _ Time is not as linear as most assume _ ,  _ for it is not always lost when a moment is over.  _ You figured it out. You figured out how to travel in time. That is how we are standing here, isn't it? You were born in the future but live in the past.” Caroline just smiled, happy that he had finally caught on. “But that is impossible!”

“When someone tells me that I can’t do something, I set out to prove them wrong.” That made Klaus laugh, a full belly laugh that made Caroline on the stage look up. His Caroline grabbed his arm, pulling him around the all and placing her hand over his mouth, silencing him. She gave him a mocked look of irritation, knowing that she was not really angry at him at all. He kissed the palm of her hand, before cradling it in his hands, bringing her knuckles to her lips. “I take it you’re not angry at me then?”

“How could I be?” Klaus whispered, baffled that she would think such things. Granted, it was a massive secret that she had kept from him but he understood that it was one that she needed time to reveal. If Caroline had told him that she was a time traveler from the future the night they had met in Stefan’s flat, he would have thought she was mad. Yet, over the last several weeks, he had gotten to know her, fallen in love with her and as he stood in that darkened room, he knew that it didn’t matter. If anything, knowing that she was so intelligent that she figured out how to move through time, only made his heart beat for her more. 

“Well, a girl can’t be too careful. Men typically do not like to be outshone by a woman, even in the twenty-first century. I guess some things never change.”

“How did you do it? How did you..I don’t even know what I’m asking.” Klaus laughed again, the mirth on his face. This was maddening. When he had taken Caroline to bed the night before, waking up beside her in the morning, the idea of landing hundreds of years in the future had not even crossed his mind. It was impossible. Caroline was impossible; and yet there they were, standing in a world that was so different than what he was used to. “How?” 

“Do you know what the most beautiful language in the world is?” 

“No. Tell me.” 

“Mathematics.” The word slipped through her lips that had an amused smile lingering on them. Klaus looked at her with a bewildered expression. Once again, he was taken aback. He was a man who surrounded himself with art in his youth and now mad fob watches with elegant designs, crafting each with care. Beauty was something Klaus thought he was familiar with. He looked at Caroline as saw such beauty that transcended the sunrise and knew that no painting or photograph could do justice. Languages could be manipulated in such a way to bring out the most beautiful phrases in the world, bringing a reader into tears. Klaus thought he knew beauty and mathematics was not something he once would have considered beautiful. He had never been so happy to be wrong. 

“Tell me everything.”

“Time is nothing more than a series of numbers, all lined up in a row.” Caroline shrugged her shoulders, as though the answer was simple. Klaus knew that it was beyond what he could understand but the fact that Caroline could understand it, made his cheeks hurt from smiling. “Once you have the correct formula, then you can arrange the numbers in any way you want. See any moment in history that you want. Tell any story, you want to tell.”

“Beautiful.” 

“Isn’t it?”

“I was talking about you.” Klaus retorted and even in the darkness, he could see the blush spread over Caroline’s skin. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. He could feel Caroline relax, her shoulders slumping as though the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. “I have a question.”

“Just one?” Caroline’s voice held some laughter in it, a marvelous sound that Klaus wanted to hear again. His eyes flickered towards the stage again, unable to see the younger Caroline waiting there. It was clear that she had left, leaving them completely alone. Klaus pulled from her and linked their fingers together. He moved towards the stage, passing the rows of seats and Caroline following him easily. “Klaus?”

“I need to see your face. I need you to be in the light.” Klaus replied, he reached the stage and saw a small series of steps leading up to it. He climbed them easily and walked to the middle of the stage, Caroline following suit. He looked at her, the light from above illuminating her such much more than the darkened corner they were just in. There was no worry on her face, and Klaus had realized that she had been prior to bringing him there; in his confusion and befuddlement, he did not see what was in front of him. “Why 1864? You have all of time in front of you. You could go anywhere at any time and from what you’ve told me, going to Harvard, the profession your mother held, the world has changed and could be so much better for you. Why stay in 1864?” 

“Because of you.”

“What?” 

“You’re in 1864.” Klaus looked at her with a baffled expression, not able to process everything she was saying. Caroline took a step forward and reached up to place her hand on the side of his cheek. “You’re right. The world has changed and it is so much better than it was a hundred years ago but I wasn’t happy. I had no one. No friends. No boyfriend outside the occasional one-night stand. Hell, I didn’t even have a cat. All I had was my studies. I worked and worked until I was able to prove that my theory about time was correct. Then when I figured it out, when I solved the mystery, what came next?” 

“I’m not following.” 

“Klaus, the first time I traveled back in time, I landed in Paris on April 3, 1867. It was a random date but you were the first person I saw. We had one conversation and it changed everything. You sent me on this path. So I went back to my life and traveled through time some more. I went a thousand year in the future and went back to witness the crusades and yet it was your voice that played in my mind over and over. So, I went back to my small apartment in Boston and I looked you up. Your history and then I knew that I had to go back. The last thing I did before I left was have the day we met tattooed on my shoulder.” 

“You came back for me?” Klaus asked, disbelief plaguing his tone. Caroline nodded and all he could wonder was what he had said to her, what he  _ would  _ say to her that would have such a profound effect on her. What could have possibly transpired between that would have gaged such a response that Caroline would leave her entire life in the future behind. There were a thousand questions that Klaus knew probably had no answer to but there was only thing that was absolutely clear. He was in love with her. “Marry me.”

“What?” Caroline froze, her eyes wide and shocked. She had not anticipated such a request, and that much was obvious. Klaus could not help but smile widely at her shock. “Are you serious? You’re asking me to marry you? In my high school auditorium?” 

“I think that I am asking the woman that I’m in love with to marry me after she took me on the trip of a lifetime, the location is irrelevant.” Klaus shrugged, watching as the corners of her mouth turned upward. “I do not know the moment it happened or when the realization came but when you told me last night that Lorenzo St. John was nothing more than your creation, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Now, seeing everything that you’ve accomplished, what you’re capable of and all I know is that I want the privilege of calling you my wife.” 

“I think that is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me.” Caroline whispered, a streak of tears running down her face. Klaus stepped forward and placed his hand on her cheek, slowly wiping her tears away with his thumb. He could feel a slight breeze flowing around them, strands of her blonde hair flowing in her face. Klaus wanted to remember this moment in exact detail, how this strange world felt around him, how Caroline looked, and how he felt asking her to be a part of his life. Caroline reached up and took his hand into hers. “Yes. Yes I’ll marry you.” 

Klaus leaned down and kissed her passionately. He could not contain the elation bursting through his chest. Never had he felt as happy as he was holding Caroline, _ his fiance _ , in his arms. Their lips mingled together, the taste of salt on his tongue from the tears that she had shed. Caroline’s arms wrapped around his shoulders and she pressed her body against his. In the distance they could hear something ring and the sound of voices echoing outside the stage. 

“We should go.” 

“Anywhere. We can go anywhere. We can marry here and build a life in the future. I don’t care. As long as we are together, that is all that matters.” Klaus rushed out, a thousand possibilities passing through his mind. Caroline just chuckled and shook her head, giving him a light kiss on the lips. “What?”

“Nothing. I’m just happy.” She laughed as the slight pout of his lips. Klaus enjoyed seeing the joy written on her face. “But we cannot stay in the future. We need to go back to 1864. Your life is there, your shop, friends. And there is the very important factor that one day you will meet me and send me off on a very important journey; one that I now know means so much more than I could have imagined.” 

“Then let's go home.” He paused, a thought coming to him and he laughed. Caroline looked at him in confusion. An idea coming to him, one that made something strange from the day before that made sense. Klaus was learning that time was a fickle thing and when one thing happened, it was unchangeable. Caroline was always meant to come back in time to be with him, because she had already done so. “Take us back to yesterday afternoon, preferably in between four and five. I mean, what was yesterday for us. Try and get us as close to my shop as you can.”

“What are you up too?” Klaus wrapped his arms around her, but said nothing. She narrowed her eyes but pulled out the fob watch without another word. They could hear the voices of several coming closer and Caroline turned the knob on the side of the watch. Much like the time before, the world shifted and changed. Klaus could feel himself but tugged backwards and the stage faded away. He held Caroline tightly, his stomach churning at the speed he felt himself traveling. 

A moment later, they landed in the back alleyway behind the shop. Klaus stumbled slightly and perched himself against the wall. He took a few deep breaths to let his stomach settle, and the dizziness that overcame him fade. He could feel Caroline’s hands on his back, rubbing light circles over his vest; the cold winter air swirling around him. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. Perfect. I’m really going to need you to teach me how to do that.” Klaus replied and Caroline laughed, seeing her bright eyes light up at the idea. While he knew that they were going to settle in 1864, the small look into the future had Klaus knowing that this was not going to be his only trip. “Maybe a honeymoon trip. Pick anywhere at any time, and I’ll travel alongside you.”

“I would like that.” Caroline smiled and Klaus stood up straight. He looked around and saw that they had landed in the back alleyway behind his shop. He looked into the bay windows and could see his workshop clearly. It was empty and by the fact that the sun was going to be going down soon, Klaus knew that he only had a few moments. He turned to look at Caroline, and saw her eyes roaming the alleyway with what looked like an affectionate smile. 

“I need you to stay here for a moment. I won’t be long, okay?” Klaus told Caroline and she nodded. He ran down the alleyway towards the front of the store. He paused at the corner, looking both ways and seeing the faces of the few people who passed by, not seeing the face he wanted to avoid the most. 

His own. 

Klaus moved to the front of the shop and pulled the skeleton key from the pocket of his vest, thankful that it was a habit for him to slip into his pockets every morning. He unlocked the door, hearing the small bell overhead and closed the door behind him. He ran to the back of the shop, stumbling into the workshop eagerly. He quickly turned on the gas lamp beside the door and raced to the painting at the far end of the wall. He glanced out the window to see Caroline looking at him with a curious expression but all he could do was toss her a cheeky smile. 

Klaus turned the dial on his safe and pulled out the leather pouch that held several francs that he had made from some of the orders he had fulfilled. He counted out several gold coins, taking a bit more than he thought he would need to be safe and then put the leather pouch back into the safe. He picked up a small leather bag he used to wrap watches in and turned back to face the wall. Once the safe was locked up and the painting hanging back on the wall, Klaus turned to exit the shop as quickly as he could; forgetting to extinguish the gas lamp on the wall. 

He locked the shop up behind him, ran around the corner and down the alleyway. Before he reached the back alleyway, he looked over his shoulder for just a second to see himself standing at the end of it, looking down at his own retreating back. He shook his head. It was madness but he knew that his other self wouldn’t suspect a thing, because he hadn’t. He saw Caroline looking at him with curious eyes and a sly smile. Klaus grabbed her hand, linking their fingers together and pulled her down the alleyway, away from the bay windows that he knew the other version of himself would be standing in front of in a few minutes. 

“Klaus, what are you doing?” Caroline laughed as they ran further and further back down the alleyway and towards the cobbled street. She was laughing and it was music to Klaus’s ears. He wanted to hear her laughing every single day of the rest of his life; no matter what time they were in. “Klaus!”

“Hold on.” Klaus stopped, pulling Caroline tightly against him, preventing her from heading out onto the street. He peeked around the corner, just in time to see another Caroline hopping out of a carriage and walking towards the storefront with a bottle of wine in her hand. He took a moment to gaze at her, knowing what they were about to get up to inside that shop and Klaus had never been more jealous of himself before. 

“Klaus. Why did you want to come back to this moment? When we could be caught by ourselves? I would understand but the past you doesn’t-” Klaus leaned down and kissed her lips, in the slight distance hearing the other Caroline knocking on the window front. Caroline chuckled into his lips and he could feel her smiling against him. “That isn’t going to distract me. Tell me what is going on in that mind of yours.”

“You haven’t figured it out? And here I thought you would already know?” Klaus asked and Caroline just rolled her eyes, knowing full well that his smirk was infuriating her. “We are getting married. Now. However, to do that, we need to publish the banns. We are doing that now with money I’ve taken from myself. We won’t be caught by our other selves because they,  _ we,  _ are both otherwise engaged.” 

“And they say I am the genius, but tell me how are we to get married now if the banns must be read for at least ten days prior to marriage?” Caroline replied with a coy smile, cocking her eyebrow at him. She knew the answer, he knew that but he could tell that she was toying with him; pushing him to see if he would tell the insane truth of what he was still wrapping his mind around everything he had learned in the last hour or so. “Klaus, educate me on the subject.” 

“Well, we are going to go down to the cathedral a few blocks from here, purchase the bans and let them be read for the next ten days during Sunday mass. Once that is done, we are going to use my father’s fob watch and make time go a little faster. We are getting married in ten days' time and in a few hours in our time.” He leaned down and kissed her again, their tongues dancing together in a furious battle that neither wanted to surrender to. Klaus broke the kiss first, placing another on her forehead. “But we should get to the church before the sun sets.” 

“I do love a man with brains.” Caroline replied in a low and almost seductive tone. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his nose before tapping it with her finger tip. Klaus chuckled at the feeling, unable to focus on anything else but the bright blue eyes that were shining back at him. “And once we are married, what is going on inside that shop right now is nothing compared to what I will do to you.” 

Before Klaus could respond, Caroline linked their fingers together and pulled him down the cobbled streets. They weaved through the few people, ignoring the stares Caroline received because of her improper attire; a woman running down the street in nothing more than men’s breeches and an oversized shirt was not something that was seen often. Klaus did not care, seeing Caroline running down the street, her boots clicking off the dusty streets and her hair dancing in the sunset, he had thought she never looked so beautiful. 

Basilica Cathedral of Saint Denis was tall and massive with imposing white stone and large windows that appeared as though the heavens were looking down upon them in judgment. The location was not one often frequented by the upper class but there were times when people such as Napoleon III would be spotted. Yet, the cathedral rarely catered to the lower class and those few who found religion among the debauchery, for the priests often turned their nose at those they deemed to be inferior. The church was not a place Klaus had frequented during his time in Paris but had no issue gliding through the front door with an inappropriately dressed Caroline on his arm. 

The meeting was quick and only lasted a few minutes. Klaus handed over a few of the francs to a very displeased priest, one who made his feelings of being disrupted quite clear when they burst through the oak doors of the church. The priest gave long looks at Caroline’s appearance, making assumptions of her condition and why the pair wanted to marry so quickly. Yet, the priest remained silent allowing them to sign their names on the deed and vowed that the bans would be read everyday to those who frequented the church and published in the local paper as well. 

As Klaus and Caroline made their way out of the cathedral, their laughter echoing along the gothic architecture and the feeling of judgement boring into their backs, neither had felt so happy in that moment. It was dark by the time they slipped through the oak doors a second time and Klaus quickly took her into his arms again, pulling her to his lips for what felt like the thousandth time in a few short hours. As they kissed, Caroline slipped the gold fob watch from the pocket of the pants she wore and began to turn the dial. 

The kiss ended both moments later and in ten days time. When they broke apart, gone was the cathedral and the darkness of the freshly fallen night. In its place was the fresh mist of the morning and the club that Caroline had been dancing at. Klaus’s stomach rolled, time travel still not agreeing with his body, especially in such short time frames but he didn’t care. There was a jubilant feeling in his bones and by the smile on Caroline’s lips, he could see that she felt the same. 

“Where the hell have you  _ been!? _ ” A screech from the doors of the club reached them and they both turned to see a very angry looking Katherine staring at them. Her long brown thick curls hung down around her waist and her hands perched on her hips. She was in nothing more than a long black coat that went to her knees and white skirt peeking out of the front. “Ten days. I have been looking for you for  _ ten days!  _ You vanished and I have been out of my mind!” 

“Kat-” Caroline began but Katherine held up her finger, silencing her. Katherine stepped out of the door way of the club and onto the street, strolling over to the two of them. Outside of Mikael, Klaus had never seen such fury etched into someone’s face before. Katherine’s brown eyes held a fire in them and if it was physically possible, he was sure that his body would have been engulfed in hellfire. “I’m sorry if I worried you but I’m fine.” 

“You never leave without telling me. I was worried sick. I thought something had happened to you. I went to Klaus’s watch shop and all I found was your dress laying on the ground of his upstairs flat!” Klaus looked at Katherine confused, wondering how she got in at all. “I might owe you a new window. Anyway, I even went and sought out this idiot to see he knew where the hell you went.” 

Both Klaus and Caroline’s eyes snapped to the door of the club sto see Stefan leaning against it. He was fully dressed but his hair was in disarray and his clothes wrinkled. He looked exhausted and for a moment, Klaus felt a pang of remorse. While Klaus and Stefan did not see each other every day or even every week, he should have known that his friend would have been worried if Klaus had gone missing. He tossed his friend a sheepish look but the other just shook his head, his shoulders slumping in relief. 

“Kat. I’m sorry. I’m fine. Really. We didn’t mean to scare you. Either of you.” Caroline replied, sending both Katherine and Stefan apologetic looks. She reached down and took Klaus’s hand in hers, giving it a tight squeeze. Klaus smiled at the feeling, drawing from the comfort from her grasp. “But, we have something to tell you and I hope that you can be happy for us. Klaus and I are getting married. Today.”

“What?” Stefan spoke for the first time, his sage green eyes wide and darting between the two of them. He pushed away from the door, coming to stand by Katherine, who was looking just as shocked as him. “What do you mean you’re getting married? You just met a couple weeks ago! And you can’t just marry! Like, are there not things you have to do for that? Get a license or something? And what does any of this have to do with the fact that you’ve been missing for ten days!?” 

“You took him on a trip? Didn’t you?” Katherine’s eyes narrowed, gazing at Caroline and shutting the rest of them out. Klaus looked at Katherine in surprise. There was something in her tone and the way she was studying Caroline, as thought she knew more than he had originally assumed. Klaus knew that the pair were close and that they had developed a tight friendship since Caroline had been dancing at her club. 

“You know.” Klaus said and Katherine looked at him. She shrugged her shoulders, as if she didn’t know what Klaus wanted from her. Stefan’s brows creased in confusion and he looked between all three of them, clearly understanding that he was being left out of something important. 

“Know what? What is going on?”

“What can I say? When a girl randomly appears in the middle of your club, dressed like she was, let's just say you’d have questions. It's a good thing she can dance or I might have tossed her to the curb.” Katherine replied and Klaus snorted, knowing full well that Katherine would have done no such thing. She was cold and absolutely terrifying but one thing she cared about was her girls. She would protect them at any cost. In the back of Klaus’s mind, he could not help but wonder what that conversation would have been like when Caroline just materialized in front of her. “Damn it Harvard, you give me more grief than you’re worth. Come on.”

“What? Where are we going?” 

“You don’t honestly think I would let you get married dressed like that, do you?” Katherine snapped, pointing to Caroline’s attire. The brunette grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled her towards the club, Klaus and Stefan falling into step behind them; the latter running his fingers through his hair, a habit Klaus knew he did out of frustration. Once inside, Katherine led Caroline to the back of the club and once they disappeared out of sigh, Klaus turned to look at Stefan.

“I need a favor.”

“What? No. No no no no. You do not get up and vanish for ten days and then come back with some wedding announcement, asking for favors.” Stefan snapped, narrowing his eyes at his friend. His lips were pursed and he crossed his arms. Klaus pouted, knowing that it was a look Stefan had issued denying him anything. “Damn it, what is it?” 

“The photographs you took of Caroline. I need them.” Klaus told him and when Stefan began to shake his head, the refusal on his lips but Klaus pressed onward. “Look, I know it is all confusing and maybe one day I will explain everything, or even have Caroline show you but it's very important that I have those pictures. I can pay you for them. Whatever your buyer was going to charge you, I’ll pay double.” 

Stefan looked at Klaus, shaking his head in such frustration that for a moment Klaus thought his friend was going to pull his hair out from the roots. He could see Stefan’s mind working, going back and forth between his options. When he let out an annoyed huff and reached into his jacket pocket, Klaus could not help but to grin widely at him to the point that his dimples showed. It was obvious that his friend was giving in Klaus always felt a bit too smug when he got his way. 

“You and your jealousy are going to cost me one day, Mikaelson.” Stefan snapped but Klaus remained silent, refusing to note that his desire for the photographs had nothing to do with the fact that he was jealous. While it was a perk that no one else would see naked photographs of Caroline, he knew that they served a purpose. Caroline only posed naked for Stefan because she knew that no one but Klaus would see them; even if she did not know what exactly their relationship would progress to. “I have a meeting with my buyer this afternoon and you’re so lucky I have them on me.”

Stefan pulled a leather pouch from his jacket and unraveled it. He pulled out a series of photographs, all with different naked women on them. Klaus was surprised but said nothing. It appeared that Stefan was able to find more women who were willing to put themselves forever on camera. Klaus gazed at the photographs until Stefan pulled out one photograph of Caroline, her naked body laying across the sofa in Stefan’s small flat. He handed it to Klaus with a scowl on his face. 

“This is it?”

“Yes. We were interrupted that night if you remember.” Klaus smirked, his lips turning upward and pocketing the photo. He reached and pulled the small pouch filled with gold francs and handed the whole thing to Stefan, whose eyes went wide when he counted the coin. “Klaus, this is more than what my buyer is paying for a dozen photographs!” 

“Keep it, Mate. I’m getting a much better payment in return.” Klaus replied, watching as his friend continued to count the money. He looked around the club, seeing a few girls milling about; cleaning and organizing the stage for the performance that they would be having the following night. Bonnie walked out from the back and Klaus waved her over, appearing completely unsurprised that the pair of them were waiting. Bonnie gave him a curious look, the corners of her lips turning upward, making Klaus wonder what exactly was occurring backstage. “Do you have a quill and some ink?” 

“Sure. Give me a minute.” Bonnie turned on her heels and walked behind the bar and grabbed what looked like a quill, ink and paper. She handed him the items but tossed the paper on the table. He pulled the photo from his vest pocket and laid it face downward onto the table. He dipped the quill into the ink and sketched the date  _ April 3, 1867 _ onto the back of it. “Something special about that date?” 

“It's the day that the world changes.” 

It was another hour, at least, before Caroline reappeared with Katherine in tow. Klaus and Stefan just lounged at the tables, chatting absentmindedly. Stefan tried to pressure Klaus into telling him where Caroline and he had gone during those ten days but all Klaus would do was smirk at him, his dimples infuriating his friend even more. No amount of lectures were going to convince Klaus to tell Stefan anything Caroline did not want him to know. Those ten days that were only a few hours to Klaus, would always remain a secret between him and his wife; even if they ever decide to let anyone else know about the fob watch. 

When he heard her laughter coming from the right side of the stage, Klaus whipped his head around. He saw Caroline heading towards them with her arms linked with Katherine’s. He noticed that Katherine had changed but Klaus could only focus on Caroline, who grew more beautiful with each passing day. She wore a blush colored gown that was by far the most elegant one he had ever seen. The bodice was tight and the neckline a bit higher than he was used to seeing on her. The dress had a small train trailing behind her. Her hair was piled up on the top of her head, ringlets hanging down in her face. She wore a simple necklace that rested on her chest. She had a black coat in her hand, ready to put on in the freezing weather, making Klaus realize that he had not had a coat in hours, the excitement from the day kept him warm. 

“Klaus.” Caroline whispered, holding out her hand and wiggled her fingers in order to have him take her hand. Klaus did so without a second thought, standing from the chair he had been sitting on. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, smirking against her skin and his eyes locking with her. “Do you think I could have a few moments of your time?”

“For you, Sweetheart, I have nothing but time.”

**_Three years later_ **

_ April 3, 1867  _

Klaus lifted a small wooden crate, listening to the jingles of the broken parts inside. The cool spring breeze flowed down the alleyway, causing Klaus to have a slight chill but he pressed on. He tossed the parts that would be useless to him on the pile of junk in the corner, knowing that one of the boys would come out back and dig through the scraps, hoping to find something of use. He tossed the wooden crate down and grabbed another one, hearing his wife’s laughter from inside the window; causing him to give a small smile at the sound. 

Caroline still danced at Katherine’s club but six months after they married, Caroline offered Katherine a hefty sum of franc to buy a share of the club, income that Caroline would not tell Katherine where or when she obtained it. This allowed her to still be at the club and dance on the weekends, but be home with Klaus during business hours. She typically ran the shop, dealing with customers while Klaus fiddled with the watches, carving designs on their metal casings. In the three years since his marriage, Klaus had never felt such joy as he did when he was with Caroline. 

Klaus tossed another crate of damaged parts onto the pile when he heard it. The sound was small, nothing more than a slight screech of metal scraping against another, followed by a thump of someone falling to the ground. It sent chills down his spine but a smile cured onto his lips. It was a sound he knew well, having heard it many times over the years. He tossed the crate down and slowly turned around.

The sight that greeted him was one that he laughed at; his wife was flat on her back and her blonde hair sprawled across the cobblestone ground. He took in her appearance and saw that while it was Caroline, she was at least eight or so years younger. She wore a tight pair of breeches that were a faded blue and a small white top that was held up by nothing more than thin straps on her shoulders. A light blue sweater hung off her and lingered down around her waist. 

Klaus remained silent, leaning against the wall of the alleyway with his arms crossed, allowing Caroline to gather her bearings. He watched her breath hollowly before pushing herself up off the ground. Her eyes darted around, taking in the scene around her. She let out a happy laugh, her hands going to her lips and she began jumping up and down in place. 

“Oh my god. I did it. I actually did it!” Caroline squealed in excitement. She started dancing on the spot, not the graceful moves he had seen her do many times at the club but he knew that she was putting so much passion into that movement, having finally solved the one thing she had dedicated her life to for years. She spun around, laughing as she went but nearly fell over when she finally caught sight of Klaus. “Oh shit.” 

“Don’t stop on my account, Sweetheart. Continue celebrating.” Klaus told her teasingly. His Caroline would have simply rolled her eyes and then pulled him into her embrace, the two of them swaying to music of their own making. This Caroline however, only had a slight tint of red going over her skin, a tint that Klaus knew he couldn’t help but find adorable. 

“I feel like I should explain. You see-”

“You have nothing to explain to me.”

“I mean, it's not everyday that some random chick just, like, drops out of the sky.” Caroline countered and Klaus only chuckled, having seen his wife disappear several times only to reappear seconds later, usually dressed in something completely different. Klaus pushed off the wall, slowly taking a few steps towards her and reached into his vest’s pocket. He pulled out Caroline’s naked photograph and handed it to her. Caroline’s browe furred. Her expression completely changed from confusion to one of outrage. “What the hell!?” 

“Flip it over.”

“How the hell do you have a naked picture of me!?”

“Flip it over.” Klaus repeated and Caroline glared at him, turning it over and gazed at the date. Seeing the date on the back, she paused. The anger slipped away from her face as she gazed down at the date written on the back. Klaus began to speak in a soft whisper. “ _ If something happens in the past that would cause a change in the future, such things cannot be undone.” _

“That is from my thesis. How do you know that?” Caroline whispered, flipping the photograph over to gaze at her naked body again. Her eyes peeked up between her lashes, biting her bottom lip as Klaus watched her debate with herself over everything that was unfolding. It was like two ends of a spear meeting; Caroline at the beginning while Klaus was at the close, a loop coming full circle. 

“My friend, Lorenzo St. John, told me.” Klaus replied, shrugging. He slipped his hands into his pockets, gazing at Caroline, studying her face. He could see his wife lingering in her face. Yet, there were differences. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and the laugh lines he had on the corner of her lips were not there. Her face was a bit fuller, having lost the sharpness of her cheekbones. “You’ll get to know him I’m sure.”

“Right. Doesn’t explain the naked picture. What are you? The victorian version of a peeping tom?” Caroline retorted back, causing Klaus to laugh. His dimples creasing on his cheeks and his mirth echoing in the light wind. “This isn’t funny! Stop laughing!” 

“Right. Of course. Sorry.” Klaus tried to keep his laughter at bay but he couldn’t help it showing on his lips and Caroline’s irritation only spurring him on further. She glared at him with such frustration several times over the years but he felt that in this case, kissing her anger away was not going to do him any favors. If anything it would earn him a slap across the face. “I apologize.” 

“If you’re sorry then you can- oh no.” Caroline’s eyes went wide and she reached down into the pockets of her pants. She padded her hips and searched each of her pockets but could not find what she was looking for. He could see the tears begin to swell up in her eyes and the panic written over her face. “My phone. I dropped my phone. Oh my god. How am I going to get back? I need that phone! I can’t be stuck here!” 

“I’m sorry, what happened?” 

“I dropped my phone! It was how I got here! I modified it to be able to do this. I’ve been working on it for years and I dropped it the first time it worked!” Her hand went to her hair, gripping her curls and hot tears spilling from her eyes. Klaus walked slowly to her and rested his hands on her shoulders. He drew small circles on her skin, knowing that it was something that would calm her. He could feel her relax but only slightly. “What am I going to do!?”

“What do you need that would get you back to the future?” Caroline’s eyes snapped up, her body freezing. Through her watered eyes, she was gazing at Klaus, taking in every inch of his appearance in a way that she had not done so before. He knew how to read her and he could see the thousand questions she had forming in that beautiful mind of hers, the same questions he once had for her. “Sweetheart? What do you need?”

“Um. I don’t know. Something that tells time at least. If I can get that I can go from there.” Caroline answered, still watching him as though he was a ghost coming from her past to haunt her. Klaus let go of her shoulders and stepped back slightly. “If I can change it, modify it in a specific way, it should work until I get my phone back. It will take some time. A few hours at least or maybe a day or two.”

“Well, it's a good thing I'm a watchmaker then.” Caroline’s eyes grew even wider and the look of hope that spawned on her face made his heart thump in his chest. He reached down and pulled the gold fob watch off his belt, tracing his father’s name on the back and held it out to her. Hesitantly, Caroline picked the watch up from his hand, not taking her eyes off his. “There are a few spare parts in that pile over there. “

“Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure Caroline.” Klaus replied and moved around her to head down the hallway, his hands in the pockets of his trousers and a curl hanging down in his eye. He looked over his shoulder, knowing that Caroline would still be looking at him in confusion. “Take good care of that watch, I’m going to want it back one day.” 

“Who are you?” Caroline called after him and Klaus stopped, halfway down the alleyway. He turned around and smirked. He took one last look at her, admiring how beautiful she was; on the crux of just proving possibly the most important theory of all time. He had always known that Caroline was beautiful but it was her mind that made him fall in love with her. The breeze flowed around them again and he couldn’t help but smirk at her before turning around and walking back down the alleyway.

“Klaus. Niklaus Mikaelson.” 

“And how do I know you?”

“Well, that's the beginning of a whole nother story, now isn’t it?”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Well....thoughts. Questions. Concerns???


End file.
